Himeno: Damn! How could I be so stupid?!

Mikan: What's the matter, Himeno-chan?

Himeno: Wah…I broke Nee-chan's cell phone.

Mikan: Nee-chan…? You mean akatsuki-hime?

Himeno: That's right.

Mikan: That's not good. Isn't your sister scary?

Himeno: That's right. And I already got pummeled by her. Now I have to save up to buy her a new one.

Sumire: Well, it was your own stupid fault to begin with.

Mikan: Permy, don't be mean.

Himeno: Its okay, Mikan-chan. Permy's just sour because she got dumped by white paint.

Sumire: And it's all that stupid Kokoroyomi's fault!

Mikan: Do you really think it's his fault?

Sumire: Of course! Who else could have played such a foolish prank on me?

Himeno: You could be wrong about that, permy.

Mikan: sigh… Oh well… Let's start the story.

Himeno: I don't own Gakuen Alice or the characters. The plot is entirely mine, okay?

Natsume the Jerk

Episode 23: Not Anymore a Prank

Sumire Shouda walked as fast as she could towards the school gates of Alice Academy, since she only had five minutes to spare before the unreasonable head teacher of discipline would declare her late. She entered the gates and saw a few students rushing towards the school buildings. She walked into the middle school building, currently ignoring the stares from students. The incident yesterday has not yet been forgotten. After getting drenched by wet paint and making a scene in the cafeteria, she was sure that she was the talk of the school. She didn't want attention that way. It was humiliating.

She was on her way to her classroom when her eyes fell upon a long brown bench from below. She could see it clearly through the window. Suddenly, a memory emerged from her troubled mind. She shut her eyes tight, trying to erase it from her head, but the images still came.

She opened her eyes and looked at the bench again. She decided to head towards the bench instead of going to class. She wasn't in the mood for school anyway. When she finally reached the bench, she sat down and dropped her school bag beside her. She hung her head low, remembering that day very clearly.

"Sumire's Memories"

She was seven years old when she first met him. He was the new transfer student and everyone was rather curious about him. She didn't give a damn care, even though her friend and seatmate was telling her how cute the new guy was. Well, she did take one look at him and had to admit he was cute. However, his kind of cuteness didn't appeal her one bit. Aside from that, the guy sported a very stoic expression.

His name was Kokoroyomi. He was assigned to sit right next to her, much to her dismay, and the teacher told her to be friendly with him. Well, she did greet him in a not-so-nice way, but the guy just ignored her. She got pissed but didn't say anything afterwards.

His first day in school wasn't so great. The girls in class wanted to befriend in him, but he avoided them. She just observed him from a distance, always judging his actions, and saying how annoying he was. In the end, he didn't make any friends.

For the next few days, the guy gained friends one by one. However, despite how the guys mingled with him or how the girls gave attention to him, he never once gave off a smile. It was like he was incapable of smiling. She found herself wondering why he wouldn't smile. Somehow, his poker-face really bothered her, but she didn't talk to him.

One day, her art teacher assigned him to be her partner. They were going to do a project which was a requirement to pass the subject and partners were supposed to work together as a team. She wasn't so thrilled with the idea of having him as a partner. She wished she was with her best friend instead. She did some complaining to the teacher, but the teacher told her it was the perfect chance for her to bond with him since she was the only student in class who doesn't interact with him. She didn't have a choice then.

Once school was over, she reluctantly invited the guy over to her extravagant house and brought him to the art room. She asked him what they should do for the project, and he just rolled his eyes away from her. Popping a vein, she clenched one fist and yelled, "If you're not going to cooperate with me, then we're not going to pass Art!"

He raised a brow at her as he crossed his arms. "So what?" he replied casually, and she narrowed her eyes. "You're the one who's serious about the project, so you should be the one coming up with the ideas."

She wanted to hit his head so badly. "In case you have forgotten, we're partners for this project," she said in a controlled voice. "Unfortunately, we have to work together."

He shrugged and told her that she should do the project by herself because he wasn't interested. Of course, she got mad at him. She grabbed a blank canvas and hit him with it. His arms got secured by the ripped canvas. "For a girl, you sure are violent. It's not cute at all." He shot her a mean glare.

"As if I care what you say," she said, folding her arms over her chest. "It's your fault for showing me such an irresponsible attitude."

He removed the canvas off of him and walked towards the door. "I'm leaving. I refuse to work with a violent girl like you," he said icily.

"What did you say?!" She lifted several canvases with her two hands and threw them towards the guy.

He stuck out his tongue at her and left the art room immediately before the canvases hit him. She got more frustrated because she wasn't able to hit him. She couldn't believe that guy. He was so annoying and laid-back. Worst of all, he called her not cute and violent. He was so rude to her.

The day after that became like hell to her. He, undeniably, had began playing pranks on her like putting a frog on her head, dumping cold water on her during gym class, placing a fart-balloon on her seat, and a lot more. But they were all harmless pranks, which everyone in class found funny. And he did those pranks without smiling or laughing. Well, it wasn't funny for her since she was the victim, and she had more reasons to kill him.

After class, she dragged him to the school garden and pinned him down on the bench. "I know you're mad at me for hitting you, but do you have to go this far?" she said in a grim voice. "You think its fun to toy with me? Huh?"

"Do I really have to answer that?" he said nonchalantly.

She felt her temperature rising. "You're really a moron!" she uttered. "If you won't stop playing pranks, I'll definitely make your life a living hell. I'm not kidding with that."

"I'd like to see you try, P-E-R-M-Y," he said, emphasizing the last word.

She froze all of a sudden. "P-Permy…?" she muttered.

"Permy, you're different from the rest of the class, but you're so annoying," he said, maintaining a straight face. "Still, I do think you're pretty interesting. Seeing you getting so mad at me is kind of cute." And for the finally, he showed off a smile, a rather goofy grin to be exact, and she couldn't find the right words to say to him at that moment. It was as if his grin paralyzed her. "See ya, permy…" After that, he walked off.

Once he was out of sight, she finally snapped back to her senses. "That good-for-nothing moron…" she grumbled, her fists shaking. Like a volcano that has erupted, she kicked the bench hard. "He's the most annoying guy I've ever met! How dare he call me with such a name! He's such an idiot. He's the worst! Argh!!" She scratched her head in frustration and calmed down afterwards. As she recalled his smile again, she drew in a deep breath and sat down. "But I have to admit…He looked a lot cuter with a smile…"

Two years have passed and their relationship hasn't changed. He was officially her casual prankster, and students would always see her chasing after him. Even though they weren't in the same class anymore, they would have their occasional arguments, which had become a part of their everyday routine. And one day, when she was strolling down the hall, she came across Kokoroyomi and a girl who seemed younger than him. She decided to hide from sight, but stick around to find out what the girl was telling him.

"Um…Kokoroyomi-san…I…I have something to tell you," the girl said, twirling a strand of her long purple hair, looking at him nervously. "It's very important."

The guy had his goofy grin on. "What is it? Do you need my help in something?" he said.

From the looks of it, Sumire guessed that it was a confession of love. For some reason, she didn't feel at ease with it. Knowing Kokoroyomi, she knew he would surely play a prank on the girl and trample her feelings. She won't let him do it. She marched up towards them, shouting, "Hey! You!"

The girl gasped in surprised. "Eh…Erm…" She was intimidated with Sumire's sudden appearance and quickly she turned and ran away.

"Ah, she ran away because of you, permy," he said. "I wonder what she wanted to say to me." He scratched his head.

Sumire folded her arms in front of her chest and shot a glare at him. "I bet you were planning to play a trick on that girl, huh? It's a good thing I stepped in." She pointed a finger at him. "Look here, you better not try anything funny with other girls, got that?"

He scratched the tip of his nose as he chuckled. "Permy, I wasn't planning to do anything to her. What made you say that?" He placed his hands behind his head and leaned his back against the wall. "Wait a minute…Don't tell me you're jealous? You don't want me paying attention to other girls, right? You only want me to focus on you. That's so sly, permy." He laughed out loud.

A vein popping out of her head, she whacked his head hard. "Who do you think you are?!" she growled like a cat. "I am not jealous and why the hell would I want your attention? You're really nuts!"

"Yeah…nuts for you…" he said a little softer than usual as he patted her back.

She blushed instantly. "What garbage are you saying?" She gave him a shove. "Stay away from me, moron!" After that, she stomped away from him, thinking more weirdly of him.

"End of Flashback"

"I wonder what he meant when he said that…" Sumire muttered under her breath, looking up at the sky.

Kokoroyomi suddenly came into her view and greeted her with a grin. "Who are you talking to, permy?" he asked. He was actually leaning over her.

Sumire's eyes grew wide. "You?!" She pushed his face away and turned around. "What the heck were you trying to do?!" Her heart was thumping at an unusual pace. She really didn't expect Kokoroyomi to appear all of a sudden in her midst of thinking.

"Nothing really…" Kokoroyomi took a seat beside her. "So, what made you decide to skip class?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," she retorted.

"Class is boring," Kokoroyomi plainly said. "Besides, I saw you out here and I thought you might need some company."

Sumire's cheeks turned slightly red as she shrugged. "Who would want your company, stupid? You're not even allowed to go anywhere near me. I still haven't forgiven you for that prank."

"I told you I didn't do it."

"Just leave me alone."

"You can't order me around."

Sumire narrowed her eyes at him. "Then I'll leave!" She stood up, but before she could walk away, Kokoroyomi grabbed hold of her hand. "Hey! Let go!" And when she looked at him, she didn't see his cheerful face. She saw a gentle one.

Squeezing her hand tenderly, Kokoroyomi rose up from the chair and looked directly into her eyes. "I'm telling you the truth, permy," he said. "I wasn't the one who dumped that white paint on you."

"You're nothing but a big stinking liar, Kokoroyomi," she said, pulling her hand away. "I am never going to believe in you again!"

"Permy, just listen to me," he said, his voice almost pleading.

"Shouda-san, Kokoroyomi-oniichan is telling the truth…"

Sumire was a little startled at the unexpected voice. She peered over her shoulders and saw Aoi Hyuuga. "What the heck are you doing here?" she questioned. "So, you two skipped class together?" Somehow, she could feel jealousy in her heart.

"We didn't mean to skip class," Aoi replied. "But Onii-chan wanted to talk to you as soon as possible. He has something important to say, so please listen to him. Shouda-san, just give him a chance to explain."

The green-haired girl shook her head and lowered her gaze to the ground. "No, I won't!" she uttered. "I'm sick and tired of Kokoroyomi. He just fools around with me. Even at the time I…I told him…he just made it seem like a joke. I really hate him."

Kokoroyomi flinched at the word 'hate' but stayed quiet. He couldn't find any words to say at Sumire.

Aoi drew in a deep breath. "Shouda-san, you told me once before that you don't hate him," she said, and Sumire immediately shot her a glare. "You can't even bring yourself to hate him. I know Onii-chan is a very important person to you."

"He's…he's…just nothing to me…" Sumire said, shutting her eyes close.

"This is too serious for me," Kokoroyomi said, making the two girls look at him. His expression was the usual goofy one again. "I can't take it anymore. Permy really hates me for something I didn't even do. That sucks."

Sumire gritted her teeth and grabbed his collar with her two hands. "I knew it! You're never serious in anything. You just fool around and do whatever you please."

"Yeah, you're right, permy," Kokoroyomi said with a smile. "I do whatever I please, so I hope you won't mind me doing this." He clamped his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward to bring his lips down to hers.

Aoi gasped in surprise. She would never have guessed Kokoroyomi could be so aggressive with a girl. He just kissed her without a warning.

Stunned, confused, disgusted, Sumire was paralyzed with such action. She had never been kissed by a guy before, so technically it was her first kiss. Her precious first kiss was taken away by the guy whom she considered as the most annoying person on earth. However, she was a little glad he was her first. Still, Sumire hadn't yet forgotten about the prank and all the foolishness he had done to her. Pushing him away, she covered her mouth with her hand and gave him a death glare.

"So, you didn't like it?" Kokoroyomi asked her like nothing happened.

Her fists shook in anger. "How dare you!" she exclaimed. "You're such a scum! I know you only did that to make me more miserable than I already am. Why do you keeping doing this to me?"

"Permy, I kept playing pranks on you not because I wanted you to suffer or anything," he said, reaching out for her face. The girl quickly backed away, but Kokoroyomi advanced forward and took her into his arms. "It was to get your attention. I didn't know any other way to make you look at me. But I swear I didn't dump that white paint on you."

Sumire was too shocked to move. She was supposed to be angry at him, but her heart felt at ease with him holding her with such tenderness. "Kokoroyomi…I just don't get you…" she muttered, almost grumbling. "You may be a simpleton, but you're complicated at the same time."

"My parents used to keep moving from one place to another. To be honest, I didn't want to go to school here before, but I was forced to," he explained, leaning his temple on her shoulder. "I had no plans on making friends, which explains my introverted personality back then. Everyone wanted to become my friend, but I just rejected them. When we got paired up for an art project, you were the first person to ever treat me differently. You were straightforward and honest. I got interested in you the minute you hit me with the canvas."

"Eh? You…? Interested in me?" He was totally getting out of character, Sumire thought, but she didn't make a fuss about it.

"Permy…what I'm really trying to say to you is…" Kokoroyomi paused for a moment. He had to make it clear for her or else he'll end up losing her forever. All the misunderstandings have got to stop. As he pulled back to face her, he tucked in her hair behind her ear and gave her a loving smile. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry for all I've done to you. I just couldn't help myself. But like I said before, I only did that to get your attention all the time. And that's because I—"

A voice suddenly interrupted him. "You there!" And it was such a familiar voice. "What are you doing here? Class is in session and you're skipping!" All three students turned to the direction of the voice and saw the ever-strict-and-sour Jinno-sensei.

Kokoroyomi released Sumire and chuckled awkwardly. "Uh-oh…We're in trouble…" he said, mentally cursing the teacher for disturbing such a good moment. He might have to tell her later. "Sorry, sensei, but we've gotta run…" Grabbing the two girls' hands, he started running way while dragging them along with him.

"Aoi Hyuuga, Sumire Shouda, and Kokoroyomi!" Jinno-sensei yelled out. "Come back here! It's detention after school for all three of you."

"Oh, come on, give us a break," Kokoroyomi replied.

Aoi let out a light laugh. "We're going to get it from sensei later…" she said.

"And why are you so calm?!" Sumire exclaimed. "This is unbelievable. I haven't been in detention all my life. Argh!! This is your entire fault, Kokoroyomi!" She kept whacking his back with a clenched hand, and Kokoroyomi acted like it didn't hurt one bit.

"It was nice of you to help me with my homework last night, Ruka-pyon," Mikan said after the bell rang for the next class. "You know, when I ask Natsume to help me with something, he would either refuse or want something in return. Can you believe that guy?"

Natsume was reading his manga in his usual position. His attention was completely focused on the manga before Mikan had to speak out. "Do you realize that I'm just sitting right next to you?" he told her in a rough tone. "You talk like as if I'm not here."

The brunette stood from her chair and sat down on her desk. "Oops, sorry…" she said sarcastically. "But you have to admit that you refuse to help me with my homework almost all the time."

"You should do it on your own," Natsume replied.

"I can do it on my own, you know," Mikan defended. "But there are some things I just don't understand. Besides, with my job, I can't actually focus all of my time studying. That's why I'm thankful that Ruka-pyon was there for me last night. It's not a bad idea of having him staying with us." She gave Ruka smile.

The blonde's face turned a little red. "Um…You're welcome, Sakura," he timidly said. "And it's much nicer to stay with you guys. My parents aren't usually home and I get lonely sometimes."

"With the two of us staying with the Hyuuga siblings, we're just like a one big happy family," she said, spreading out her arms, as she swung her legs back and forth.

Natsume didn't like having his best friend staying over at his house and rooming in with him. Of course, he wouldn't mind it if Mikan wasn't a resident there as well. Ruka's true intention was to get closer to her. With Ruka around, his chances of having Mikan all to himself was reduced.

"So, Sakura, do you have work later?" Ruka asked.

"No, why?" she replied.

"I have something I want to show you later," Ruka said, and Natsume narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

Mikan perked up. "Really? What is it, Ruka-pyon?" She leaned towards Ruka, placing her hands on Natsume's lap at the same time. "Is it a surprise? I love surprises."

Natsume grew stiff, but he still kept up his cool façade. Ruka, however, was blushing madly because her face was so close to his. "Y-yeah…it's a surprise," Ruka said, stuttering. "I just hope you'll like it, Sakura."

"Whatever it is, I can't wait to see it!" she exclaimed happily.

"Hey, polka-dots," Natsume grumbled, tugging on her hair. "Would you mind getting away from me?" What he really wanted to say was to get away from Ruka.

Mikan looked up at him, puffing up her cheeks. "I'm still talking to Ruka-pyon here, Natsume," she said.

Natsume heaved a frustrated sigh. "Do you have to talk to him in this position?" he said and slapped her butt. "Maybe you're just trying to flirt."

"WAH!" Mikan quickly backed away in a hurry, and because of that, she slipped and fell down on her butt. "You pervert! That was sexual harassment!" Her voice was so loud it got everyone's attention.

"It was your fault for getting so close, you ditz," he said nonchalantly as he opened his manga. "And nice underwear today. Pink is the right color for you."

Mikan's draw dropped. "Wha…Wha…What?!" She quickly stood up, holding down her skirt with one hand, and swiped the manga away from him. "You really have a habit of peeking, you perverted jerk!"

"If you don't want any trouble, give it back to me," Natsume said with a death glare.

"Natsume, you're really pissing me off," she uttered. She was going to hit his head with his manga when the teacher came in and told the students to settle down. Mikan sighed and threw the manga over to him. "You're just lucky, Natsume."

"Am I now? Pink…" Natsume said, arrogantly smirking at her, taking the manga back.

She sat down and clenched her fists on her lap. "Jerk…" she muttered through gritted teeth.

"Natsume, do you have to tease her so much?" Ruka asked, as the raven-haired boy started reading his manga.

"Why? Getting jealous now, Ruka," Natsume replied coolly.

"No…" Ruka said with a sigh. "But it kinda bothers me that you're taking advantage of her by harassing her."

Natsume shifted his eyes from his manga to Ruka's blue eyes. "Then why don't you try it?" He was able to say this with a straight face.

Ruka simply blushed and shook his head. "No way…" It was even against his nature to do any ill-mannered things to a girl. He would never harass Mikan no matter what. He wasn't anything at all like his best friend.

End of Episode 23

Himeno: Well, this chapter mostly focused on Sumire and Kokoroyomi.

Aoi: Kokoroyomi-oniichan was about to say something important to Shouda-san, but Jinno-sensei had to come along.

Himeno: Speaking of Jinno-sensei, you guys are going to get punished for skipping class in detention.

Aoi: Eh? You're still going to write that. I hate detention.

Himeno: Well… Not really… I'm planning to write more scenes for Sumire and Kokoroyomi. I especially loved the part where he kissed her on the lips in this chapter.

Aoi: Yeah, it kinda surprised me.

Mikan: So, permy and Kokoroyomi-kun actually kissed? I can't believe it.

Aoi: Those two make a good couple, don't you agree.

Himeno: Hey, sorry for not focusing much on the love triangle here.

Mikan: Love Triangle?

Himeno: You don't have to know about it, Mikan-chan.

Aoi: Himeno-chan, will there be love triangle moments in the next chapter?

Himeno: You bet!.

Mikan: Wow!

Himeno: Please don't forget to review this chapter. No flaming.