Himeno: Mikan-chan, I was browsing through the web and found out that you were nominated for the Sailoli Contest 2008 and you even won against Chihiro from Spirited away in Group D
Himeno: Okay, time for another story. I do not own Gakuen Alice or its character. I do want to own Mikan-chan, Aoi-chan, Tsubasa-senpai, and Ruka-pyon, but I just can't.
Aoi: It's because we belong to our creator, Higuchi-sensei.
Himeno: Yah… Anyway, this chapter will be enjoyable.
Aoi: Is it because of the surprise? I still don't know what it is.
Himeno: Well, it involves our lovely love triangle.
Aoi: More Onii-chan, Mikan-chan, and Ru-chan moments!
Himeno: And Kokoroyomi/Permy too!
Sumire: What?! Again?! I'm so sick and tired of being with that guy.
Aoi: Shouda-san, even though you say that, you still like him.
Himeno: Aoi-chan is right, permy.
Sumire: SHUT UP!! Just get on with the story. I don't want to talk to you idiots any longer.
Aoi: Wah…We got scolded, Himeno-chan.
Himeno: Don't mind, permy. Denying her own feelings is so hard…Hehe…
Sumire: SHUT UP!
Natsume the Jerk
Episode 22: Unprecedented Situation
Mikan had celebrity work to do so she was excused from class for the day. The two boys, who had serious crushes on her, were rather lonely without her presence in the classroom. They were awfully quiet around each other. Even during lunch time they didn't talk. No, they weren't angry at each other. There were times that Ruka wanted to start a conversation with Natsume, but the latter seemed to avoid contact with him. Well, Natsume was still feeling a little bitter about yesterday. Seeing Ruka's finger inside Mikan's mouth wasn't a pretty sight for him.
"Are you guys in a fight or something?" Aoi asked after finishing her lunch in the caferia. She had been observing the two boys since they've arrived at the said place. "How come you two haven't said a word to one another?"
Natsume just shrugged and Ruka answered, "No, we're not in a fight. I guess we're not in the mood to talk."
"Is it because Mikan-chan is not here?"
"It's not that…" Ruka replied with a sigh. "But it's quieter without Sakura around."
"If she's here, then it'll be noisy all the time," Natsume said nonchalantly.
Aoi gigged. "Mikan-chan always has something to talk about, so it's never boring with her around."
Ruka had to agree with her. Mikan was such a bundle of joy. Before her arrival, it was always him, Natsume, and Aoi. Things weren't so good between them before. But thanks to Mikan, Natsume had learned to open his heart once more to him and Aoi. "Do you think she'll be working all day long?" he asked.
"Mikan-chan did say she wasn't coming to school today," Aoi replied. And then she saw her favorite Kokoroyomi-niichan coming into the cafeteria. She put on a big smile on her face and waved a hand at him. "Onii-chan, over here!"
Kokoroyomi saw her and approached their table right away. "Hey there, Aoi-chan! Still looking goofy with that smile there…" He let out a chuckle, and Aoi just smiled wider.
"Did you have lunch already?" she asked.
"Yeah...back at the classroom…" Kokoroyomi was saying this while looking around the cafeteria in search of a certain someone. "Hey, have you seen curly permy around? I can't find her anywhere. I already tried the classroom and her favorite hang-outs."
Aoi knew that Shouda Sumire was someone very special to Kokoroyomi. If not, why would he even bother teasing her just to get her attention? And Sumire seemed to like Kokoroyomi more than a friend. "I haven't seen Shouda-san. Wait…Are you just going to tease her again? You know, she'll just get mad at you."
Scratching the back of his head and smiling cheerfully, Kokoroyomi sat down beside Aoi and placed his elbows on the table. "She'll get mad, but she won't hate me," he said. Sumire said it herself. She doesn't hate him. Kokoroyomi was pleased to know that. And as he glanced at Ruka and Natsume, he was reminded of the fact that Sumire idolized the two. "Hmm…Does curly permy still bother the two of you? She is the president of the fan club after all."
Natsume merely rolled his eyes away while Ruka shook his head. "Unlike before, she doesn't bother us everyday. But the other fan club girls still do," said Ruka.
"Don't worry… Permy just admires you like big stars…No romance hinted in that."
"We figured that much," Ruka said.
Speaking of the devil, a very angry Sumire burst into the cafeteria. To everyone surprise, her once dark-green hair was all white and her uniform had some white paint on it. "KOKOROYOMI!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs once she spotted the said boy. She marched on over to him, as everyone's eyes had focused on her, and grabbed him by the collar. "YOU'RE THE ONLY PERSON I KNOW CAPABLE OF DOING THIS! HOW DARE YOU DUMP WHITE PAINT ON ME!" She looked like she was about to kill the boy. She was just walking by the school building outside when someone from the third floor poured white paint on her. After checking out the place where the suspect dumped the paint, she found something that belonged to Kokoroyomi.
"It's a pretty neat prank," Kokoroyomi said with a light laugh. "But I'm not the one who did it. It's probably someone else."
Sumire's eyes burned in anger. She raised her fist, attempting to hit his face.
Aoi quickly pushed Sumire away from Kokoroyomi. "Shouda-san, please calm down," she said. "Didn't you hear what Kokoroyomi-niichan said? He wasn't the one who dumped white paint on you."
"Shut up, ugly bitch!" Sumire wasn't in her right state of thinking anymore. The swearing kept coming out of her mouth uncontrollably. "You must be a real idiot to defend this moron here, Hyuuga-san. He's the only one who always plays pranks on me, thinking that it's oh-so-fun. He never stops to consider my feelings. He puts on such a goofy expression everyday but deep down he's nothing but a sadistic schemer."
"Kokoroyomi-niichan is not like that," Aoi said in defense. "You should know that as well."
Natsume acted like he didn't care, as everyone in the cafeteria was either curious or shocked about what was happening. Aoi was the most concerned about it.
Sumire narrowed her gaze at Aoi. "Don't talk as if you know him well, pig-head. I've known Kokoroyomi for so long. I know what he's like." She clenched her fists hard and through gritted teeth she said, "And because he's such a jerk, I suggest that you stop sticking close to him, Hyuuga-san. But I believe that you can't do that since you need him to protect you from bullies, right? You're only friends with him because of that."
Aoi shook her head violently in response. "No, you're wrong. Kokoroyomi-niichan is a precious friend to me."
"Friend my ass…" Sumire said. "And stop calling him like he's your brother, you stinking bitch!!"
With that, Kokoroyomi finally snapped and slapped Sumire across the face. It was a real shocker for everyone in the cafeteria. The friendly and playful Kokoroyomi actually hit a girl for the very first time. "Insult Aoi-chan one more time and you'll really get it…" he said in a grim voice, and Sumire stared at him with wide eyes. "I can tolerate you bad-mouthing me. But don't you ever be mean to Aoi-chan."
Natsume was rather impressed with the brotherly care Kokoroyomi was showing for Aoi. It seemed like there was no need for him to intervene since Kokoroyomi was already doing a good job defending his sister.
Sumire's heart felt like breaking. Kokoroyomi, the one she loved, slapped her just for the sake of Aoi. "First, you dump paint on me, and then you hit me," she said, her voice a little shaken up. "Just how long do you plan to make me suffer, Kokoroyomi? Why must you play these horrible pranks on me? You always hang out with other girls than me. It's obvious that you don't care about me at all." She was trying to hold it in. However, it came out. The tears just flooded out.
"But you're gone too far, Permy…" he said, looking down on the floor. "Besides, why won't you believe me? I'm not the one who pulled the prank on you."
"I don't want to believe you anymore," Sumire said. "Not anymore…I've had it with you! I HATE YOU!" Sumire spun on her heels and rushed out of the cafeteria.
Too sad to even move, Kokoroyomi just brushed his hand through his hair and sighed deeply. "Permy…I've hurt her again…"
After class, Natsume was off to his special Math classes again. Along the hallways, a lot of students would give him the occasional glares and disgusted looks and only some fan girls would just stare in awe. As he turned at one corner, a girl bumped into him and fell butt first on the floor. Natsume recognized the girl as one of Aoi's classmates and bullies since he had seen her before during elementary.
When the girl looked up and saw Natsume, she immediately got back to her feet and bowed like an idiot. "I'm so sorry! I was being stupid. I wasn't looking. Sorry! Sorry!" She knew it wasn't wise to mess around with Natsume Hyuuga, the number 1 delinquent in school. And once Natsume showed off his famous glare, the girl paled and ran off in a blink of an eye.
"What an idiot," Natsume said with a shrug. Before he proceeded, he saw a photograph lying on the floor. He figured that it was something the girl dropped when she fell. He picked it up to examine it. To his surprise, it was a snapshot picture of Kokoroyomi sleeping under the Sakura tree in the school garden. "Why the hell does she have a picture of him?" Not only that, there was a little smudge of white paint on it.
Something smelled fishy. It wasn't his style to meddle into other people's business. The problem between Kokoroyomi and Sumire had nothing to do with him, but his sister would surely get herself involved. Aoi would not stop nagging him about his Kokoroyomi-niichan being sad, so it might be best to help out a bit.
Meanwhile, the other Hyuuga was getting ready to leave the room. As she went to the door, two of her male classmates blocked the door from her. "Um…Please excuse me…I have to go now…" she said.
One boy crossed his arms and smirked at her. "So, you only hang out with that Kokoroyomi fellow just because he can protect you from bullies," he said.
The other one laughed like a maniac. "Hyuuga Aoi, you're so pathetic," he said. "Don't you think it will be troublesome for Kokoroyomi-san to take care of a stupid girl like you?"
Aoi had a lot of things she wanted to say in her mind, but she decided to stay quiet in order to avoid more trouble. Her Kokoroyomi-niichan promised that he'll protect her. He was someone she could rely on. She wasn't a burden to him because she and he were good friends.
"Why don't you say something, bitch?"
As if on the cue, the door behind the boys slid open and a rubber hammer knocked them to the floor. "That'll teach you not to mess with my cute little Aoi-chan," Kokoroyomi said, tapping the rubber hammer on his shoulder.
"Onii-chan!" Aoi lunged forward to hug Kokoroyomi and thanked him for saving her. "I don't know what I'll do without you, Onii-chan." She was happy to see that Kokoroyomi was back to being goofy and playful. After the scene in the cafeteria, he went into silent mode for the whole lunch break. Even after reaching the classroom he was still silent. Aoi couldn't even concentrate in class because she was thinking too much about him and Sumire.
"Hey, how about if we go to McDonalds today," Kokoroyomi said, rubbing his tummy. "I'm kinda craving for some burgers and fries."
Aoi nodded her head. "Sure thing! I'm kinda hungry as well."
The two of them headed towards the entrance and when they got there, they saw Natsume leaning against the lockers. It seemed like he was waiting for them. "Onii-chan, what are you doing here?" Aoi asked. "Shouldn't you be at the Special Math Class right now?"
"Maybe he decided to skip it," Kokoroyomi joked and earned a hard glare from Natsume. He immediately shut up and smiled nervously at him.
Natsume straightened up and pulled the photograph from his pocket. "I have something to say to you," he told Kokoroyomi. His eyes were like burning holes in Kokoroyomi. "And you better listen up coz I'm only saying this once."
By the time Mikan was done with work, it was already 7 PM. She wondered if the Hyuuga siblings already had dinner. For sure they wouldn't make dinner. Natsume will never allow Aoi to even near a stove, and the guy himself doesn't like doing work. Maybe she should order a take-out for them.
Serina, her manager, had already boarded the limousine and told Mikan to hop in as well. But before she could do that, another limousine pulled up along the driveway. Mikan recognized it fairly well. It belonged to Ruka. As the window slid down, Mikan approached the limo and greeted Ruka with a cheerful smile.
"Ruka-pyon, good evening!" she said. "What are you doing here at this time? I'm already done with work, so I'm heading home."
"Is that so? Well, I was wondering if I could escort you home myself," Ruka explained.
"Eh? Thanks for the offer but I don't want to trouble you."
"It's no trouble at all," he replied. He opened the door and stepped out of the car. "Besides, I'm planning to have a talk with Natsume."
"Hmm…Okay then…" Mikan spun around on her heels. "I'll go tell Serina-san about this." She walked over to her limo and asked permission from her manager to go with Ruka. Serina, without doubt, agreed, and Mikan was delighted.
Before going home, they passed by at a Chinese restaurant and ordered take-out by request of Mikan. And when they got home, Mikan and Ruka were greeted by Natsume at the doorway, though not in a very welcoming way. He had his cold eyes directed on Ruka the minute he saw him coming in with Mikan.
Mikan raised her take-outs into the air. "Natsume, I'm sure you haven't had dinner yet, so I ordered these!" she said chirpily. "I hope you like Chinese." She then went prancing off into the kitchen to prepare the food.
"I can tell by your face," Natsume said when he leaned his back against the wall, "that you had a good time with her."
Ruka smiled gently at his best friend as he walked past him. "This is a battle between us, Natsume," he said. "I won't be defeated and I'm sure you won't give up as well."
Natsume rolled his eyes away. "Whatever…" He and Ruka both sat down on the sofa at the same time, and Natsume switched the television on. The first thing that was showed on the screen was Mikan's face. She was doing a commercial on a particular shampoo product and her hair was just flawless on screen. Mikan was so beautiful. "Not bad for klutz," Natsume said in his usual nonchalant tone.
"Sakura's really cute," Ruka added.
"So, what are you doing here anyway? Why haven't you gone home yet?"
"Do you want me to leave already so you could have your fun with Sakura?" Ruka teased.
Natsume shot him a glare. "I didn't mean it by that, dummy," he said.
Ruka let out a chuckle as he turned to look at Natsume. "Since Sakura is living here with you, I'm in a disadvantage. So, I've been thinking…What if I begin living here instead? In that way, we'll have equal chances with her." He explained all that without falter but with a smile.
Natsume narrowed his eyes. "You've gotta be kidding me? You…? Living here?"
"You can't really kick me out—even if you want to." Ruka stood up and turned his back at him. "Remember, my family bought the rights to this house in order to pay your debts before so I have the right to stay here. I told you before, Natsume, I won't lose."
"You're really serious about this," Natsume said. Frankly, it was his first time seeing Ruka so serious about something in all his life. "Then I'll have to get more serious than you."
Ruka peered over his shoulder to cast a smile on Natsume. "It won't be fun if either of us is not serious," he said. "Now that I've told you, I'll have my things delivered here." He went out to ask the driver to carry his luggage to his new home.
End of Episode 22
Himeno: That's all for now…
Aoi: Whoever did that prank of Shouda-san must hate her?
Himeno: If you only knew… Hehe…
Aoi: It's quite surprising that Ru-chan decided to live with us. He really loves Mikan-chan.
Himeno: Well, we all know that except for Mikan-chan herself.
Aoi: What's going to happen in the next chapter?
Himeno: Hmm…Well, a touching moment between Sumire and Kokoroyomi will be unfolded!!
Aoi: Really? That's so exciting.
Himeno: I will also reveal bits of Tsubasa's love life soon. But not in the next one, okay?
Mikan: I heard senpai's name.
Himeno: Hi, Mikan-chan! Me and Aoi-chan were just talking about the next chapter.
Mikan: And it involves senpai?
Himeno: That's right.
Mikan: Then I'm looking forward to it.
Himeno: Okay! Readegrs, please review! No flaming