Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! I doubt anyone even remembers this story any more . . . Anyway the story's about to start for real (finally) so I hope you guys like the new chapter! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any associated characters and settings
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Mikan hummed cheerily. She had a tasty cheeseburger meal to munch, her new friend Bob the truck driver had paid for her meal before he'd left, Sumire and Hotaru were coming to pick her up, the sun was shining, she was on holiday and everything was right with the world. Her good mood was also helped along by the simply gorgeous blonde boy checking her out from the window booth. At least she thought he was checking her out. Mikan stopped humming cheerfully. True her eating face was not her most attractive, but did that really warrant the confused frown on the guy's face? She spun around suddenly and looked at him head on. She used her thinking face, cheeseburger forgotten, to scrutinize him.
But god was he pretty. Mikan's thinking face became slightly dazed and she was lost in his big blue eyes, fine, chin-length blonde hair, long legs and a straight nose. Very princely, he was. Mikan approved. Then she realised he'd gone from initial surprise at her blatant staring to slightly nervous and a bit worried. Mikan was at a loss. Then she remembered what Sumire told her about her thinking face resembling a fierce scowl that was slightly pained and decided to stop thinking. Her face relaxed, and so did the lovely boy. He didn't start frowning again, and he didn't look away. Mikan returned his embarrassed, tentative smile with a full-blown grin. Mikan was a firm believer in attacking things head on.
"Wanna eat with me?" She hollered across the McDonalds. His eyes popped and he jumped slightly. Mikan laughed loudly. The boy looked down, red flushing his face and neck, and then seemed to take several deep breaths and look up again. Mikan smiled at him, ignoring the other customers watching them. She gestured very unsubtly with her head and raised her eyebrows suggestively. He sat down beside her a moment later, still flushed with embarrassment, but smiling anyway.
"Hello gorgeous, Mikan's the name," she stated without shame. His mouth dropped for a moment and he was stunned (she'd like to think it was by her own gorgeous face and bod, but odds are he was having a Sumire moment where, and she quotes, 'all his thoughts just flew out the window and blew up on the lawn because her voice was annoying and loud and fucking hell, why were they talking?'). Anyway, she digresses, he was at a loss.
"Ruka, it's, uh, nice to meet you."
Mikan slipped her hand into his offered palm, and then proceeded to slide her fingers over his hand and forearm with an innocent, genial smile. The embarrassment in his cheeks had cooled to give way to helpless, put upon amusement. She'd bet a boy as pretty as him was used to being felt up. Then she stopped because she hadn't finished her cheeseburger yet and by god if anything would ever come between Mikan and her food. For reals mother fucker, their bond was legit.
"Any particular reason you were frowning at me babe?" She asked around a mouthful of cheeseburger. Ruka was looking at his arm where she'd touched it. He glanced up when she spoke, resting his arm on the bench.
"I thought you looked familiar. Sorry if I was staring. I'm pretty sure we've never met before now; I'd remember a pretty girl like you." Ruka smiled and was blindingly gorgeous and charming and Mikan was temporarily blinded. Holyfuckmethisboyisfuckinghot! As she waited for her sight to return, Mikan vowed to get a picture with him and throw it in the face of her friends that she was the first one on this trip to bag a hot sexy guy for fun times. Unless of course Misaki had managed to hook up with truck driver sometime this morning which Mikan wouldn't put past her because Misaki was a slut. And very good-looking. Y'know, Mikan had this idea (as she was telling Sumire the other day because Sumire's always around when Mikan has these crazy amazing thoughts. Hotaru usually is too but she's liable to attack Mikan every time she directly addresses her) that sometimes she really actually wished she was a lesbian so she could get it on with Misaki. And maybe all her other friends too cause they were hot as well. For reals.
"-Kan? Mikan?"
"Shit, what? Were you saying something honey?"
Mikan abruptly realised her sight was back and that the male meals-on-wheels before her was looking at her strangely, with concern. A look Mikan was used to because it was Nonoko's 'love, you're vacantly staring with your mouth full and open again' look that she always gave her whenever they were doing anything.
Ruka's face cleared and he laughed easily, "You cut off in mid-sentence, I was wondering if you were okay." Mikan looked at him blankly. "I did? What was I saying?" Ruka brought his eyebrows together in a look of simply orgasmic confusion and gestured unsurely with his hands.
"Something about slutty truck drivers taking photos of lesbians . . .?"
Yeah. Sometimes Mikan had word vomit when she got mentally distracted. It would be embarrassing but then sober thoughts are drunken words so it's her just desserts. That makes sense in her head. Or something. For reals. Hmm, Mikan should provide a distraction and pretend it never happened. That's what she did when stuff got embarrassing and/or weird. Like that time she woke up in a full-body hot pink snow suit in Misaki's mouldy bathtub (Misaki was a slob in that she was a total slob) after a night with the girls.
"I'm eighteen, just finished school, I like hamsters and I have two, yes I'm naturally this hot and no I don't think modesty is a virtue worth having," Mikan said happily. Then added "Unless of course you're Misaki and a total whore biscuit," as an afterthought. Ruka just smiled again (probably his default response to uncomfortable social situations, of which Mikan seemed to create many). There was a pause in which Mikan was certain Ruka was going to stand and leave. She had reached this turning point in almost every conversation she had ever been in, and most seemed to end in the other party leaving.
"I'm nineteen, finished school last year in France, on holiday with friends for a couple of months, have a dog and I have no idea who Misaki is." Ruka said; his blue eyes were wide and filled with humour. Mikan would describe them in a more poetic manner but that would come off as pretentious and clichéd. Mikan shrugged in response to his last words, her delight that he was choosing to talk to her rendering her response far too loud and enthusiastic.
"Nobody actually knows Misaki because even though she gets around like hay fever in spring she uses a seasonal alias, so no one can figure out it's her giving them annoying symptoms. Sometimes she also gets around like heat rash and that's not fun for anyone." There was an awkward pause, one Mikan felt pressured to break in an obnoxious manner.
"So! Where are you heading?" She gestured around the servo-McDonalds with wildly gesticulating hands that resembled more of an upper body flail than a gesture because she was concentrating on what she was saying and her motor control sort of broke from its cage and took flight out the metaphorical window whenever she started to concentrate too hard. Ruka ducked to avoid a back-handed slap to the face.
"Down to the beach for a couple of weeks. We're celebrating school being out for some of my younger friends," he replied politely, another charming smile on his face. Mikan did her rape face and tilted her chin at a retarded angle.
"Really?" She warbled (highly attractively in her mind; it was probably pretty horrific in real life but meh, whatever bro. Get out of her face and into her pants) suggestively. Ruka blinked. Mikan smiled somewhat normally.
"Uh . . ."
Mikan's phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out instantly, because the awkward silence was all of a sudden knocked up with an awkward twin and it was very awkward. Almost an awkward level: penguin, kind of awkwardness.
Parked outside dumb ho. don't keep us waiting or we'll leave you here.
Mikan beamed and put her phone away. Hotaru came to pick her up, which must mean . . . she did care! Oh how Mikan loved her best friend. What a dear of a best friend she was. Even if she did beat Mikan up and call her names and eat her food and blow her off whenever she tried to have a conversation and send her really short texts. At least she wasn't a bacon sandwich. Cause then Mikan would eat her and Hotaru would be obligated to beat the crap out of Mikan for eating her. That would possibly be a dark day in their friendship.
"Uh, Mikan?" Asked Ruka uncertainly. Mikan uncrossed her eyes.
"Photo? Of you and me? What a great idea!" She cried delightedly, giving Ruka her biggest smile. She whipped out her phone from her bag again, where she had put it back for safe keeping because Mikan could never keep it in her pants. Ruka blinked yet again, his eyebrows pulled into a bemused half-frown. Then his expression cleared with comprehension.
"It is," he said, a smile slowly spreading across his face. Mikan found his lovely expression infectious and smiled back, with considerably less charm and an unattractive number of extra teeth showing. She slung an arm around Ruka's neck, kissed him smack on the mouth, slipped a piece of paper with her number (and name and a few naughty drawings) into his pocket and snapped a shot as she did. She bounced out of the peck with fervour and leapt to her feet, energy entirely boosted. Ruka watched her, pretty darling that he is, with wide eyes and red cheeks.
"Bye Ruka! It's been fun, but ergo, or whatever, I must leave you my dear!" She chirped over her shoulder, prancing over to the doors with her phone thrown into her bag. Unfortunately she tried to go out the 'in' automatic sliding doors and collided with unyielding glass when the sensor failed to pick up her movement unexpectedly. Mikan picked herself up from the floor good-naturedly and, with another wink and 'call me' hand gesture at a dumbfounded Ruka, flounced out the right doors and into the parking lot.
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"I hate you."
"Hn."
"I genuinely hate you so much."
"Hn."
"If I were to rate the hatred I feel for you on a scale of 1 to 'I hope you get molested', it would be 'fucking die'."
"And if I were to rate my care factor from 1 to 'shut the fuck up', it would be 'suck a dick'."
Natsume flipped the page of his brand new action manga (manga, not cartoon. Fuck you Koko) disinterestedly. It was actually pretty boring, not even really worth the bargain ten dollars he paid for it (shut up Ruka, a bargain's a bargain). It was not the best way to distract himself from the short ball of furious energy across the lounge room. Aoi said nothing more, but assumed 'the pose'. Natsume felt his eye twitching. She was not. She wouldn't dare. But indeed she had. Her little fists were on her hips, her feet were planted firmly on the ground and her face was screwed into an expression of utter disdain. It was a blatant challenge (pride was an issue in his family for everyone but his father. Aoi knew damn well he wouldn't be able to ignore her looking down on him) and his eye twitched further.
He pointedly took a deep breath and turned the page again. His little sister glared at him unrelentingly at where he sat on the couch from the kitchen, her red eyes sparking furiously, the weight of her gaze like a physical heat on his face. This was always a bad sign with Aoi; she was liable to do anything in this state (the kitchen knives in particular looked too close for his comfort) Natsume sighed inwardly and gave in.
"Fine, what's wrong?"
"You told mum and dad you unbelievable jerk," she grit out between clenched teeth, with not even a hint of the usual triumph at goading him into responding. A tingle of apprehension went down Natsume's spine. Shit was serious now. He chose his words and tone carefully.
"Told them what?" he asked as disinterested and patronisingly amused as he could manage. Aoi took a furious huff of breath.
"You're going to pretend you don't know anything about it?" She spat disgustedly, advancing a few steps. Natsume kept a wary eye on her clenched fists (because they may start flying towards his face at any second).
"About what?" he asked again in the same tone, an inkling of what this was about coming to him.
"ABOUT AKIRA YOU UNBELIEVABLE TATTLE-TALING BUTTMUNCH!" Aoi shouted furiously, her face flushing to match her eyes.
Ah. Natsume's mouth twisted involuntarily into a sneer. Tonouchi Akira; a person the world would be better off without by all accounts. He could remain entirely free of guilt where Tonouchi Akira was concerned. He closed the manga soundly and got to his feet, taking the time to stretch leisurely while Aoi steamed (it gave him no small amount of satisfaction).
"He's a womanising scumbag in college. Of course I told mum and dad," he sneered derisively. "He could have done anything to you, being the kind of guy he is." Aoi hissed, apparently managing to rile herself up even more with his clear dismissal of the subject.
"He is NOT that kind of guy Natsume! You don't even know him!"
"Neither do you," he muttered under his breath. Aoi ignored him.
"You did it because you don't like him! Do you realise how selfish that is?" She spat furiously. Natsume felt himself turn around almost unwillingly and meet her glare for glare. Aoi looked taken aback for a moment so he pressed his advantage.
"Selfish? I did it for you! Out of brotherly concern and love," he said forcefully, "That I, personally, think he should be thrown under a bus has nothing to do with it." He crossed his arms and stared her down. "If you aren't going to look out for yourself baby sister, don't be surprised when I do it for you." Aoi faltered under his disapproving frown, and he thought she might back down completely for a second. Then she let out a frustrated huff of breath.
"Your so-called 'brotherly concern has cost me an entire summer's worth of freedom! Do you realise just how much that sucks?" But the fire in her voice had faded to dull passive-aggressiveness; Natsume savoured a sweet victory.
"Maybe you shouldn't date inappropriate men our parents won't approve of," he suggested smugly, a contented smile of victory on his face. Any further resistance on her part would be for show. It served her right. No little sister of his would be seen with trash like Tonouchi unless it was over his dead body. He readied himself to leave. He had to finish packing some things and Yuu would be over to pick him up in an hour.
Aoi scowled. "I was going to tell them at the right time." She pouted sulkily.
"Yeah, like when you were an adult and it was actually legal," Natsume snorted, starting off towards his bedroom. He heard Aoi huff once more and dropped onto the couch behind him.
"Whatever," she muttered. The sound of daytime television followed him down the hall. It cut off once he entered his room, kicking the door closed behind him. An open suitcase sat on the bed and next to it a pile of clothes his dad had washed for him to pack. Natsume threw his manga to the side at his reading bean bag and sank onto the bed. He distractedly went through the pile of clothes, pulling out things he wanted to take.
The confrontation with Aoi was one of many they'd had since he'd returned home. It hadn't seemed like he'd spent a long time in France (work, learning the language, Ruka and school had kept him busy), but coming back, he'd realised a lot had actually changed. His old friends had all grown up, his parents had moved house, his mother had changed careers and Aoi had changed from a sweet little girl who hung on his every word to an independent, headstrong teenager who thought she could handle anything and didn't appreciate a henceforth absent influx of brotherly attention and protectiveness.
It wasn't that he ever doubted his decision to follow Ruka, even now, it was just that maybe he missed the old days growing up, where he and Aoi never disagreed, everyone knew everything about everyone else in their small school community and he lived in the house where he was born. Back when he knew a girl, who in turn, knew him better than anyone. But he hadn't seen her since he'd left, and that was six years ago. He was shaken from his (entirely characteristic) brooding by a knock on the door.
"Natsume darling? Are you finished packing yet? Yuu just called to say they decided to leave early, and he should be here in ten minutes. " His mother called from the other side, her voice an ever-constant mix of affectionate and sophisticated.
"I'm done." He called back. Kaoru opened the door in her 'casual' Sunday cocktail dress. "Would you like lunch before you go? Your father's cooking so it should be safe to eat." Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she laughed. Natsume grunted.
"That wasn't funny. We were all vomiting for an entire night," he frowned at her. Kaoru laughed again.
"That's why I don't cook anymore darling. I'll save you some if you're quick- though I'll have to fight Aoi for the mini spring rolls. She does love them." Kaoru left, leaving the door open behind her so Natsume could hear the sound of Aoi cajoling food from their tough-as-cotton-candy father. Natsume zipped up his suitcase and pulled it behind him as he left. As he passed the kitchen he saw his mother attempting to be domestic in a ridiculously fancy cocktail dress and breaking things, his father impersonating the iron chef and succeeding, and Aoi sitting at the kitchen bench with her puppy eyes on and numerous scraps of food on her plate.
Natsume hid his smile behind his shaggy hair. Evidently some things hadn't changed at all. He really did brood too much.
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Ruka Nogi felt like he had been slapped across the face, doused in ice-cold water and then slingshot into space. His cheeks felt flushed, his palms sweaty and his heart thundered away in his chest like he'd just run a marathon. Normally this might be an unknown medical concern, but Ruka knew better. He knew his ailment was nothing more than something suffered but multitudes of school girls all across the world. And he knew the cause of his could be described in two, simple words.
Mikan Sakura.
He was in love. Or damn near close anyway. Beautiful, slightly touched in the head true, but funny and vibrant and alive. His lips tingled and her number seemed to glow and beckon him from where it sat on the table. Ruka blushed harder when he realised that he was indeed suffering from what could only be described as a school girl's crush, on some chick he'd known for all of ten minutes. He stared at the ten digit number on the table some more, lost in thought.
When his phone suddenly rang, it made him jump violently. He fumbled quickly with his pocket and pulled it out, checking the caller id before answering.
"Hey Yuu, I'll be right out if you're here. Is everyone with you?"
"Yeah, you'd better hurry. Natsume's about to strangle Koko with his headphones," Came the harried voice of Yuu Tobita. Ruka laughed somewhat nervously.
"I'll be right out." He hung up and stared at the number for a few seconds more. The distraction of the phone call had gotten his blushing, gushing crush-fest under control, so he simply smiled at it.
"Mikan Sakura . . ." he mused. He picked up the number and slipped it back into his pocket on his way out.
It never occurred to him to wonder why she'd seemed so familiar at first.
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Did I just *gasp* write something remotely serious? I think I might have . . . Alas, this story now, apparently, has plot because Natsume wrote himself. Also I wouldn't mind a little feedback on whether you guys think he's in character if you don't mind :)
I'll try to be quicker with the next chapter but I won't make any promises! XD
PS If you guys want a direct say in how I handle this situation I've started. . . there is a poll on my profile for you guys to have your input. :)