Yay! Chapter 7!
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP…SMASH!
Natsume groaned as his alarm clock went off, but he smashed the machine as he rolled over, his body aching.
He didn't even want to remember the night at the little café…
It started out pretty nicely, but…
Flashback…
"HELL YES! I haven't been here in forever!!" Mikan shouted, slapping Anna's hand.
"They have the best cakes here," Nonoko squealed.
Both Hellfire and SAGA stood in front of a white café, which looked old and run down. It wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. So it was medium-sized.
Hellfire walked (dragged) in after SAGA.
"Yomi-saaaan!" Mikan called cheerfully.
A short, black-haired girl wearing bunny ears and a maid's uniform appeared.
"It's Mikan-chan!!" She said, clapping her hands together. "Guys, come out! It's Mikan and the rest of the gang!!"
Seven other girls came out, wearing differently-colored maid uniforms.
Mikan sweat-dropped.
"You guys love cosplaying as usual…"
Yomi got a mischievous grin on her face.
"That's riiiight," She said. "Buuuut, without you here, I've made so many clothes that I don't know who to test them oooonnn…."
Mikan's eyes bulged. She looked horrified.
"Um, wow. Hey, lookit, we should be getting back to the Academy—"
She started out the door, but the seven members of the café and the rest of SAGA grabbed her.
The brunette gasped.
"Nonoko! Anna! Misaki! Even Hotaru! You betrayed me!!"
"We haven't seen you in some of their clothes in a while, Mikan-chaaan," Anna and Nonoko chorused together.
"Plus, I can sell you pictures and make a lot of money," Hotaru added in, a small camera in hand.
"Hotaru!"
"What the hell is going on?" Natsume said, raising an eyebrow.
Mikan blushed angrily. "These…these morons are here! I REFUSE!"
"You're the one who dragged us here," Natsume commented, amused.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO! SOMEONE SAVE MEEE!!!"
Mikan disappeared behind the counter, the seven café members holding her captive.
"Yay! Victory!" Misaki flashed a V sign to the rest of the members.
"What WAS that about?" Koko asked, confused like the rest of Hellfire.
Misaki sat down at the large table with ten chairs. "Yomi-san runs this café with seven other people, Yuuki, Misa, Kuri, Kana, Ami, Miki and Suki. This café would technically be called a cosplay café, because Yomi and everyone loved to cosplay."
"Yomi-san makes all of the clothes," Anna said, "We used to come here all the time with Matsuri and the old gang—they serve the best cakes here, like Nonoko-chan said, so we were often the test subjects. Guinea pigs, basically."
"But Yomi-san always liked dressing Mikan and Matsuri up, especially," Nonoko laughed.
"Shut up back there!" Mikan yelled.
"Waiii! Mikan-chan, you look so cute!!" Yomi squealed.
"Mikan, get out here so we can see," Hotaru demanded, camera reading.
"No."
"…"
"Misaki, if you please?" Anna and Nonoko sighed.
Soon, the whole room was filled with doppelgangers of Misaki.
"Nooo!"
Soon after, the female gang leader was dragged out, protesting.
But the maids of the café squealed with Anna, Nonoko, and Misaki, while Hotaru snapped away, and the males blushed.
Mikan's hair was long and silky, with a white ribbon holding together some hair on the back of her head. She wore a long-sleeved white dress that trailed behind her, with large sleeves. The front was cut so you could see her legs, and one of the maids put her into long, white boots. The dress was a bit puffy, with lots of lace and other layers, to create something mystical.
She looked very similar to a princess from a fairytale.
"It's hard to walk…" She muttered, as she stumbled forwards, trying not to dirty the cloth that was flowing from behind.
"Mikan-chan! You look adorable!"
"But something's missing…" Yomi said, examining the brunette, tapping her chin.
"It's a tiara!" Misaki exclaimed.
"Ami, get the new one that just shipped in today!"
One of the maids disappeared behind the counter, and came back carrying a beautiful, sparkling tiara. It was soon placed on top of Mikan's head.
It held three diamonds, slightly rainbow, with the silver tiara designs entwined around it, to make something that looked it came directly out of a book.
"A true princess…" Tsubasa murmured, smirking.
Mikan held her hand out, and an icicle formed.
It was immediately thrown at the shadow-caster's head.
"A-And a v-violent one, at t-that…" He stuttered, as the icicle just missed him.
Mikan glared at the Hellfire members, who were blushing, though Natsume hid his very well.
"Say…Yomi-san, how would you like to dress them up?"
"But Yomi-san only makes clothes for girls, right?" Anna said, confused.
"Right. But with a wig and some makeup, they could make some really pretty girls, don't you think?" Mikan's face was distorted into an evil smile, though somehow unnoticed by Yomi and the 7 maids.
Yomi's face brightened.
"Mikan! That's a fabulous idea!"
"…"
End Flashback
Natsume groaned. Did he even want to remember?
He never knew someone could get so drunk on sugar.
Flashback
After Yomi and the 7 maids and SAGA forced all of Hellfire into costumes…
"Waiii! Thanks so much, Yomi-san!"
"Well, it's the least I can do after you offered to be my models! Eat up—I won't charge you!!"
"TSUBASA!! Don't get Yomi-san's wig dirty! It's falling into the cake, dammit!" Misaki scolded.
Yomi giggled as she examined the Hellfire members again.
Tsubasa's hair was long and blue, and he wore a light blue dress with heels.
Koko's hair was smoothed down so it wasn't spiky, and he looked very much like a girl with short hair. His clothes consisted of a shorter yellow dress and brown boots that covered his legs.
Ruka's blonde hair was now a little below his shoulders, and he wore a blue-and-white dress that matched his eyes, and white boots.
And last but not least, Natsume sat scowling, looking the (prettiest) handsomest of them all. His hair was long and raven colored, and he wore golden earrings. He wore a long, princess like (similar to Mikan's) dress, and black boots. Yomi-san also pinned a large rose in his hair, and applied some red lipstick.
"Hahaha!! Natsume looks so pretty!!" Mikan laughed, cracking up. "He makes a pretty good cross-dresser—you could really fool someone with that!!"
The flame caster punched the brunette's head.
"Stop laughing!"
After some time…
"AHAHAHAHAA!!"
After several cakes and lots of drinks with caffeine, Mikan was going crazy.
"Mikan, Mikan, calm down!!" Anna said, desperately trying to keep the leader calm.
"Don't be so stiff!! Enjoy the sugar!!"
Natsume sighed as he stabbed a piece of cake. They should get going soon.
Plus he didn't want to stay in the stupid makeup and dress any longer.
"AHHH! That's MY cake!!" Mikan shouted, waving her arms like a little kid.
"Well, it's mine now."
"…"
And thus a fight between both leaders erupts over a little piece of cake…
End Flashback
His body still ached from the fight.
He never wanted to see a piece of cake again.
He made a mental note to never go to the café again.
And most of all, he made a mental note not to feed sugar to the leader of Frozen Sakura.
7:26 AM, Students on their way to Class…
Natsume met up with his gang members as usual.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"G'morning…" Tsubasa finally said.
"Yeah…"
"Sure…"
"Oh…"
"…"
"…"
"Heyyy! Good Morning!"
They all heard the cheerful voice of the brunette as she greeted her own gang.
"…"
"Run for it," Koko concluded. "Before she sees you."
"Too late…" Ruka sighed, as the brunette and the rest of SAGA ran over to them.
"Hey…guys? Would you happen to know what happened after you and I were forced into costumes? The rest of my group isn't telling me." She said, head cocked to the side.
"…"
All five members stared at her in shock.
"You…"
"Don't…"
"Remember…?"
Koko, Tsubasa and Ruka said, mouths open. Natsume kept his usual emotionless expression.
"Eh? Remember what? Did I do something I'm not remembering…?"
"…"
"Natsume-sama, the torture…it gave me nightmares…" Tsubasa said, waterfalls of tears pouring out of his eyes. "My feet still hurt from those heel things, too…"
"You…" Natsume started. "We're never going to that café again."
Mikan just blinked.
She liked the cake there, but that fact that Yomi might dress them up again…
"And I never want to see a cake again," Natsume muttered to himself.
Fourth Period, Home Economics
"And so, we'll be baking a cake today! Please split into groups of five and use the provided recipe books to choose a cake you'd like to bake."
"…"
Natsume slapped his forehead. Spoke too soon.
"How about a strawberry cake?!!" Mikan squealed, in a group with Anna, Nonoko, Hotaru and Misaki. Figures.
"Chocolate cake is good, too," Anna said. "But…"
"I think we had enough chocolate cake at Yomi's Café," Nonoko put in.
"Heyy, this wedding cake looks really pretty," Misaki said.
"We're not making a wedding cake," Hotaru said.
"Nu-uh, we've decided on a regular strawberry cake. You know-- the layers of sponge cake and strawberries in between? And the cream and then the strawberry on top?" Mikan explained.
Hotaru flicked Mikan's forehead.
"I know what a strawberry cake is, idiot."
"Well then, our group is making strawberry shortcake, then!" Misaki said.
"Natsume, what about a cheesecake?" Tsubasa suggested.
"Yeah, those are really good. Natsume loves strawberries, so maybe we can make a strawberry cheesecake." Koko said.
"Ah, those are good, too," Yuu piped up.
"What do you think, Natsume?" Ruka said, looking at his friend.
"…I don't care."
"Then it's decided," Ruka concluded. "Our group is making a strawberry cheesecake."
"Alright. Recipes are in the book, so get to work!" the teacher called, ringing a bell.
Several students went to the refrigerator and cupboard for ingredients, and the bowls and mixing utensils were already at separate kitchens.
"Let's see…Koko, go kill some graham crackers. Yeah, just stick 'em in a bag and squish." Tsubasa instructed.
"I'll go get some butter and cream cheese!" Ruka called.
"Ah, I'll go get the sugar…" Yuu said.
Natsume sighed. Relying on other people's blood and sweat was much easier. But why were they so worked up about making this cake, anyway?
He looked at his group and sighed again, walking over to the refrigerator, grabbing some strawberries and lemons.
"Ahhh! Nonoko, you're going to add apples?! What for?!" the flame-caster heard the brunette shriek.
"Because apples taste good!!" Nonoko argued.
"Noooo! It's a strawberry cake!! S-T-R-A-W-B-E-R-R-Y! Ichigo!!"
"Shut up, idiots!" Hotaru called, splatting some cream on both Nonoko and Mikan.
"Ah, Hotaru-chan, that's mean!" Misaki said, mixing ingredients in a bowl.
"Attaaack!" Mikan laughed, flinging some cream back at Hotaru, which hit her in the face.
"…"
"Leader, you should stop before--"
Cream was thrown into Misaki's hair.
"You've done it now!" Anna yelled, flinging more cream wildly, as it hit Koko.
"Hey!!"
"Jerk!"
"Get back here!!"
"Students, please stop!!" The teacher screamed, but instead of everyone calming down, she was struck with cream, too.
"Ahahaha!!" Mikan laughed, as she threw some at Natsume.
Batter, eggs, fruits, water, everything was thrown at another.
"Ready?!" Mikan warned Natsume, as she wound up her arm.
"Of course. You're the one without your guard." He warned back.
SPLAT!!
Instead of hitting each other, the teacher, who walked between them, was hit with cream and batter.
"Natsume Hyuuga and Mikan Sakura!! You will clean up this mess!!"
"Ahhh…Unfair…Hotaru-chan started it, after all…" Mikan whined, mopping up the thrown cream and batter, among other things.
"You continued it, though, baka," Natsume said.
It was already getting dark, and they were almost finished mopping everything up.
Soon afterwards, Mikan and Natsume were done.
They sighed and stared at each other.
"Pffftt…"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
They burst out laughing.
"Hahaha…"
"Hehehe…"
Natsume stared at Mikan and smiled.
It was a small one,
But pure and genuine.
Who knew he could smile like that again?
But he turned serious as Mikan stopped laughing.
"Oi," He called. "What are you hiding?"
How blunt.
He expected the brunette to be surprised.
But she smiled.
"Do you really want to know? You've read my file, haven't you? You hacked into the Headmaster's student files."
"…How do you know?"
"I have my ways."
"…"
"My mother. Azumi Yuka. She's in the AAO. I think you know that…when I first transferred here. Eavesdropper."
"…!!"
"Well, I was abused. The AAO hate this academy, looking for several ways to take down the school, or to kidnap the children and sell them. They think they're doing good or something. I don't really get the point of the Organization, they're Alices themselves, and what good are they doing by selling us Alices of the Academy like slaves?"
"So anyway, my mother threatened me to help her bring down the Academy. I don't get why she need me, though, because she has the Alice to steal or copy others…and I refused. My gang attended there, how could I? So basically, I was locked up in a room and I starved, before people came to find me."
"…"
"I hate dark and small spaces. So I'm pretty much claustrophobic. This is the story you already know."
"…"
"I'm being sent on missions, usually retrieving stolen objects from the AAO. While I'm there, I sneak around and spy. I'm basically planning on taking on my mother."
"Hmmm…so Persona's using you as his chess piece instead of me, huh?"
"Haha…well, a sacrifice is what I really am. Trying to protect things that are dear without injuring them…"
"So what are you going to do with your mother…?"
"I'm going to alter her memory. So that she doesn't remember anything about having a child, killing her husband, the AAO, and Alices."
"You're going to take away her Alice?"
"Yeah."
"…"
Mikan sighed and leaned against a wall.
"I really don't know what to do anymore…"
Natsume also leaned on the wall, so that they were next to each other.
"Do what you think is right. It might not always be, but…" Natsume said awkwardly.
The brunette stared at him and laughed.
"Natsume, cheering me up?"
She ran to the door, but turned around as she grabbed the doorknob.
"Thanks…Natsume." She closed one eye and stuck her tongue out. "But remember, we're enemies!"
She left and closed the door, leaving Natsume dumbfounded.
The flow of her hair, her smile, her voice, and the gentle smell…
"My heart beats like a drum, like a drum, dum dum dum, dum dum dum…"
Blargh…the ending bit of where Natsume and Mikan clean up is kind of awkward. XD
Sorry it took so long to write this chapter. :sweatdrop:
Somehow, this just got really complicated...I don't know how. Maybe its my writer's block...
The last line is a line from a song by "ATC""My Heart Beats Like a Drum"
Well…so, yeah…
There's really nothing me for me to say…
So…yeah…
Please review?!