As promised, this chapter is dedicated to AYA12!

Last chapter I said there'll be a little Mikan-and-Hotaru moment here but I decided to make it a Sumire-and-Mikan-talk-about-Hotaru moment.

I really, really like Persona's eyes. That was not random.

Oh yes, since I live in Singapore, did anyone make the connection between "black smoke" and "haze"? Hahaha I only called it "smoke" because it was better than calling it a "black substance".

Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice and Persona's eyes are the masterpieces of Higuchi Tachibana-sama.

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Two Quarters And A Heart Down
9: Swans
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"Hotaru!" I called after her but she was already gone.

I stood up, ignoring Natsume's "Wait, Polka-dots". I felt something pull me back and then…

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.

"Looks like you've exchanged the polka-dots for plain ones, huh? Boring."

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. Closing my eyes, I turned around slowly and prepared myself for the worst.

When I stood up to go after Hotaru, Natsume had grabbed the skirt of my dress to pull me back BUTITRIPPED!

Yes, my dress ripped.

And now he was making fun of my plain pink panties.

Biting back a scream and a scathing comment, I rounded on him, glaring silent death threats all the while. Calmly, I tugged the remainder of my poor, white dress out of his grasp and threw the blankets off of him, leaving him with only his T-shirt and sweatpants for warmth.

Natsume eyed me as I purposefully grasped the waistband of his pants. I stopped and asked him, "Do you wear boxers or briefs?"

One sardonic brow arched. I could tell he was curious to find out just exactly what I was planning to do to him. "Boxers," he eventually said.

"Good," I replied nonchalantly and pulled his pants down. With strength and accuracy I never even knew I possessed, I whipped his pants right off of him. Heh. He really was wearing boxers --- red checkered ones to be exact.

I honestly couldn't care less if he saw my panties; he'd seen them plenty of times already anyway. Jamming my legs in, I hoisted the pants up to my waist, tucking the rest of the frazzled dress in, making it look like I was wearing a camisole top.

I was determined to find out what was eating Hotaru (definitely not yoghurt or crab roe) --- I still considered her my best friend even after all these years.

Sure, I had Kenta and Hiro but no matter what, no one could ever replace Hotaru in my heart, even if I didn't think about her as much as I used to nowadays.

Remembering my father's announcement, I gestured for Natsume to follow me out of the room. Whatever Aoshi-san had to say must be regarding the black smoke and Natsume was more than obligated to hear it; he was the smoke's victim after all.

When he didn't get up from the bed, I calmly informed Natsume about the black smoke. I didn't know if he knew what possessed him yesterday evening but I assumed he did upon seeing the unperturbed look on his face. However, he simply watched me as I stared at him in disbelief, waiting for him to react; get up and find out more about the black smoke. Wasn't he interested?

Poker face in place, Natsume stated listlessly, "Those pants don't suit you."

"Are you worried about everyone seeing you in your underwear? Does it even matter? Boxers are practically shorts anyway." Right? Anyway, was that what he was worried about?

"Anyway," I continued, "most of the people waiting for us are guys so it wouldn't matter." Remembering Sumire, I added, "You might want to watch out for Sumire, though. She might jump on you or something."

Natsume shrugged. Then he said something completely unrelated to our current topic.

"Imai. She missed you."

I turned away from him. I was amazed that I could keep eye contact with such an intense pair of eyes for that long.

Frankly, I felt a little silly. I guess I really was stupid to think that Natsume was more worried about his underwear than my currently dilapidated (at least I think that may be the case) relationship with my childhood best friend.

Now with Natsume voicing what appeared to be the extent of his concern towards Hotaru, I guess I was obligated to feel more worried about her than I already am. Something must've happened to her in the six years I was gone.

"Hotaru. Go after her."

I was already halfway out the door. Smiling wistfully to myself, I whispered, "I know."

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Muffled chatter greeted me when I re-entered my hospital room.

Chisa was facing the wall at one end of the room, Kenta watching her with eagle eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. Hiro was leaning against Chisa's wall, eyes closed. Aoshi-san was looking out the window, turning his back on everyone else. The rest were whispering amid themselves while occasionally shooting glances at Chisa, Chisa's "guards" or at the esteemed headmaster. I noticed Ruka was gone. To the bathroom perhaps?

I was going to ask where Hotaru was but I stopped when I saw the sunlight framing Aoshi-san.

Maybe it was unconnected but seeing him like that, I started telling myself that this was the man who helped give me life. He was the one who provided half of my chromosomes. He was the one who fell in love with the woman who carried me in her womb.

He never talked about her. He must still be hurting from when she left him all those years ago. Even more so because she took me away from him too; the seed of their romance.

Narumi-sensei told me that I looked just like my mother, save for the colour of my eyes, which were Aoshi-san's. I guess it hurt my father even more when he looked at me; I was a reminder of his lost love after all.

Yuki Aoshi: my father.

"Mikan, welcome back!" Yuu's cheerful voice snapped me out of my reverie. Then, as everyone turned their attention to me, all eyes swivelled to my newly acquired piece of clothing: Natsume's pants.

Aoshi-san opened his mouth but I hastily waved my hands in front of me. "Save it for later," I said, not unpleasantly. "Where's Hotaru?"

Sumire, Koko and Yuu exchanged knowing glances.

"Actually, Mikan," Yuu tried to reason. "I don't think it's a very good idea that we disturb her right now. She's um, busy. With her latest invention."

With Ruka?

"Oh," I said dejectedly. If they weren't going to tell me what Hotaru was up to, I could always steal Koko's mind reading Alice…

"Natsume!" Sumire squealed, her eyes practically turning into hearts.

Natsume stood behind me in the doorway, leaning his side against the frame casually. I saw Koko's smile (that guy is ALWAYS smiling; I wonder why people call me the ever-cheerful one) widen.

"Nice shorts, Natsume," Koko commented slyly, obviously reading Natsume's mind.

Natsume grunted in response. He eyed Aoshi-san, whose eyes were narrowed as he made the connection between my "new" sweatpants and Natsume's lack thereof.

"So let's hear it, Headmaster," Natsume hissed. "This black smoke business. I've got a right to know."

"I change my mind," my father declared. "This hospital room is not a suitable place to discuss such confidential matters."

"Confidential?" I echoed. "You just said everyone here could hear it."

"Indeed," Aoshi-san continued. "Everyone present here is involved in this matter. However, Imai-san and Nogi-san are not here at the moment and they have as much right here to hear this as everyone else present here." He said this with a snide tone directed towards Natsume.

"Mikan," I straightened my back, now alert, "return to your dormitory room and proceed to class immediately. That goes for all of you, except," he made eye contact with Chisa, who glared back, "Mawako-san. And Hyuuga-san, Imai-sensei has granted you permission to leave the hospital."

Aoshi-san continued in his authoritarian tone, "Report to my office in the main building at six o'clock this evening. Anyone reporting later than that time will be barred from the discussion. Aside from Sakura-san, Hayasaka, Fujimori and Hyuuga, Tobita-san and Shouda-san are required to attend as high school division representatives. And, of course, Kokoroyomi-san, as Student Council President, you must attend this important meeting. Please inform Imai-san and Nogi-san of this meeting. Their service will be of great help in the future."

My eyes practically bulged out of my sockets. Koko was a School Principal? No way! Seeing the secretive little smile on his face, I guessed his mind reader abilities helped a lot in his rise to power. Who knew our dear, sweet Koko could be so deceptive?

Just then, Narumi-sensei burst in, smiling brightly and carrying a tray of sandwiches in one hand. "I brought some snacks, minna! Oh, did I just miss something?"

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Hotaru didn't come to class. Iinchou said that she was still working on her invention. When I asked where Ruka was, he said that both Ruka and Natsume were in class C.

Classes let out at three in the afternoon so I had a little over two and a half hours to spare before heading to Aoshi-san's office. I was planning to head over to the sakura tree to wait for Natsume but Sumire stopped me on my way out of the classroom. She said that we needed to talk.

I guess Sumire wanted her claws-out confrontation now. I sighed and followed her out of the building and into a clearing in the forest, not very far from one of Narumi-sensei's tea party sites.

She sat down on the grass, tucking her legs neatly behind her. I was a little surprised at how docile she's being. Nevertheless, I sat down in front of her in a similar fashion.

Sumire tucked a stray curl behind her ear and let out a sigh that she seemed to have been holding in for a long while. "Look, Sakura," she began, twirling a lock between her fingers. "I'll be honest with you. I never liked you very much to begin with."

I nodded. What was this coming to?

"But still, when you came here six years ago, you made a big impact on Natsume-kun and Ruka-kun. But never mind about that now," her voice took on a more aggressive tone and she stared intently at me. "Frankly speaking, I wasn't all that close to Hotaru, you know? But after you left, she started acting… different. It wasn't obvious at first but gradually, over the years, we saw how the ice queen crumbled.

"She stopped inventing new things. She became obsessed with you, or at least your memory. She started inventing robot after robot that represented you."

"What about Amanatsu?" I asked softly. Oh, Hotaru…

"I don't know what became of her," Sumire confided. "She scrapped all the robots she invented, claiming that none of them were like you. Hotaru said that she didn't know where you were now or what was happening to you but she was sure you had changed over the years. She wanted to invent a robot that was a copy of the future you. Iinchou and I always thought that Hotaru didn't like losing sight of you so she wanted to know how you'd turn out; so she'd know how to deal with you when she met you again."

My brows furrowed in confusion. Hotaru… didn't like losing sight of me? I had a feeling this had something to do with her running off earlier.

"Soon, all her research money dwindled and she started losing investors."

"Wait," I cut in. "Just yesterday, Misaki-sensei called her out of class because an investor wanted to manufacture her prototype."

"A lie," Sumire stated harshly. "Hotaru did lose most of her investors but some didn't give up on her. Oftentimes an investor would come to see her and ask her to invent things for them, even providing the models and schematics. They'd even grant her a sum of money to build the machine. Most of the time Hotaru didn't accept the jobs but today, I heard from my brother that she accepted the latest offer."

She took a breath. "You know, when Hotaru became incapable of inventing those wondrous things from before, people lost all admiration and respect for her. The teachers even began suspecting that she was losing her Alice. When you left, she was at the turning point of becoming a three-star to a special star but now, she's been demoted to a two-star because of her current lack of performance in the innovation scene."

"And this is all because of me…" I whispered. Oh, Hotaru. What have I done to you? Immense guilt ensnared my senses.

"Mikan," Sumire's voice took on a gentler quality. "Do you know why Hotaru accepted yesterday's offer?"

"No," I sobbed truthfully.

"Because you came back," she said softly. "Your coming back to the Academy gave her hope, Mikan. You brought back hope to her."

"There's still one thing I don't get," I choked out. "Why is she upset when she saw Natsume and I…" I trailed off. I forgot Sumire liked Natsume.

Sumire chuckled sadly. "I know about Natsume's feelings for you. I'm okay with it, though." Resolve returned to her voice. "Of course she was upset when she saw you with Natsume! Like I said, you brought hope back to Hotaru. Her best friend was finally back and she thought she'd be able to have you all to herself after suffering with loneliness these six years. And now, she feels like her hopes have been shattered."

"Oh, Hotaru," I wailed. "I would never ever neglect Hotaru. I lo-l-like Natsume but Hotaru's my best friend and no one can ever change that!"

Sumire smiled sadly. "Iinchou and I have always seen it as clear as day. Hotaru loves you, Mikan."

I sniffed and wiped a tear from my eye. "But she always has a funny way of showing it."

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To be continued…

Reviews are much loved and much appreciated.

Well, well. There's the reason for Hotaru's fleeing. And Ruka…? Anyway, what did happen to Urumi and Persona anyway? And the information about the black smoke? I'll try to reveal all in the next chapter!

Oh, and yes, some readers did notice the change in behaviour in Mikan as the story progresses. I'm glad they did so she's becoming more emotional compared to the start but that's what I intended for. Next chapter will be a wake-up call for Mikan concerning her role as a "tool" for the Academy. Watch out for Persona's eyes next chapter!

We're halfway there, folks. I've already got the sequel to this story planned out.