Mikan X
A collection of stories on pairings between Mikan and random people.
Most stories will be AU—if not, I'll say. :)
Ch. 3: Mikan x Kitsuneme. 'Cause he hopes that one day she'll notice him.
Kitsu is the boy that doesn't leave much of an impact. His appearance isn't recurring, and he is mostly only known as the other half of Koko; his partner in crime. But I think that he's such a hilarious goofball and he deserves a little time of his own. Enjoy! :)
This story is in no way related to any of the others. Each of these chapters are in completely different universes—get it? Got it. Good. They may be in Alice Academy in this chap, but whether or not you decide they have Alices is up to you—it really doesn't matter in this fic. But they are all in the same grade :)
What they have in common: they both never fail to make me smile with their antics (I mean, Kitsu bought that one flying gum even though his Alice is for flying. And Mikan kinda just does stuff without even meaning to. See? Crazy doings, funny results).
Inspiration: the movie, I Love You, Beth Cooper. Because his confession was just plain adorable. :)
And this is to my own grade eight grad, which wasn't nearly as exciting but I'm glad to be out of that place nonetheless. :P
Sweet and simple, I hope you like it! :)
Mikan Sakura and Kitsuneme
All eyes were on her before she even cheered, "Good morning, everyone!" in her beautifully soft soprano voice. Before the entire eighth grade class repeated her greeting, all of the male population turning red in the face. Before she made her way to the back of the classroom and took her seat beside two boys who had been in love with her since elementary school.
She never noticed.
A boy sat in the middle of the room, unnoticed, like a background character in a hugely popular story. His dirty blond hair was spiked and messy, and his eyes were a plain shade of brown. He's your average boy-next-door looking guy, nothing special about him at all. He even looked almost like a twin to the class clown, Koko, who made everyone laugh—sometimes he felt like the insignificant half of a pair.
Of course, he's no Natsume Hyuuga or Ruka Nogi. His popularity level was only as average as the next guy. Chances are, if you asked anyone outside their eighth grade class who he was, they wouldn't know a thing.
Kitsuneme. That was his name—a name hardly anyone knew.
The boy had always been like that. Not many people talked to him, so not many people remembered who he was. Being just a guy in the famous Black Cat's class or the Prince Charming's, or even knowing the most sought-out girl, Mikan Sakura, wasn't enough to make an impression.
He didn't even try to stand out; most of the time he just watched the story unfold from the sidelines.
And when no trouble was arising, he would watch his crush be her bubbly self.
She was chatting animatedly to her best friend, Hotaru—the scariest girl Kitsuneme had honestly ever met—who just sat there tinkering with some kind of machine she was making, not looking like she was paying attention. Her glossy brown hair was high in its pigtails, and her hazel eyes were bright as she got everyone excited for something they hadn't been looking forward to before.
It was an admirable trait she always had. It was one of the reasons he liked her.
But Kitsu could only watch, not interfering, not uttering a single word as the day continued at its regular pace and he just sat there like a chameleon.
-MK-
Graduation was approaching quickly. Everyone in the middle school division was bustling about, getting ready for the eighth graders to bid their farewells and proceed on to accomplishing great things in high school. They were all excited and teachers gave their students time off in class to prepare for the ceremony.
Kitsuneme just sat at a table in the academy library and gave his best friend another glare which Koko only returned with a bright smile.
"Come on, dude!" Koko nudged him as the other boy tapped his pencil repeatedly against the blank paper in front of him. "What I did wasn't that bad, was it?"
"You volunteered me for class valedictorian after Hotaru refused and Yuu passed out," Kitsu stated with narrowed eyes.
Koko laughed at the memory. "So much for being class rep—Yuu just couldn't handle the spotlight."
"Why me?" Kitsuneme dropped his forehead so it landed on the table with a thud. "Why the heck would you volunteer me? Couldn't you have just let Sumire take the job? She was more than willing."
"That's the reason," he answered matter-of-factly. "Permy was too full of herself thinking that she would be best for the job, so I just had to volunteer someone. Natsume would've killed me if I said his name, I don't feel like being attacked by Ruka's rabid bunny this week, and you were the only other person who came to mind." He shrugged. "Besides, it wasn't a self-proclaimed thing. The whole class voted for you against Perms, anyway."
"Because I was the only other nominee."
"Don't be bitter with me, my friend," Koko alleged. "Even Mikan voted for you."
Colour rose to his cheeks but he just looked down to his bare sheet and frowned. "I've got nothing. What am I supposed to say? We're just going to up a grade for crying out loud!"
Laughing, Koko got out of his chair and grinned. "I don't know, but I'll be back in an hour to see what you managed to come up with."
Kitsu narrowed his eyes. "You're not staying?"
"Nope! I've got plans to get some ice cream at Central Town. Don't worry, I'll try to bring you back some!"
And then he left Kitsuneme stranded in the one place he had hardly ever visited before, grumbling about having a goof for a best friend and a sudden desire for peanut butter ice cream. He pressed his lips together and frowned once again at the empty lines in front of him, wondering what he ever did to deserve this.
-MK-
The day of graduation approached quickly, some thought too much so. During that short time, a certain dirty blond-haired boy slumped through the halls of the academy, a frown seen so often on his face that many thought it might've been permanent. Now he stood in a small room backstage with a script in his hands and a blue cloak over his body.
"Come on, Kitsu!" his friend urged beside him, wearing similar apparel. "It's finally the big day and you're still slumping around like a mop! It's ten minutes in front of the entire school—is it really that bad?"
Kitsuneme visibly paled. "Oh God, the entire school is gonna be out there? I thought it was just our graduating class and the staff!"
"Oops." Koko scratched his head. "You didn't know? Well, I guess it's better that you learn now then later, huh? Huh?"
"Get out," was all the boy said, and Koko didn't wait to be asked twice.
Once he was by himself in the room, Kitsuneme let out a deep sigh and plopped down into the chair in front of the dressing room mirror. Both faces didn't look too happy. He used his fingers to push up the corners of his mouth into a half-hearted smile, but it was quickly overtaken by a condescending grimace. What he wouldn't give to be sitting with all his other classmates in the audience, just waiting for their name to be called and to be given their ticket out of here instead.
"Hey, Kitsu," a voice chimed behind him, making him jump.
He spun around, ready to snap at whoever scared him like that when he met face to face with a bright smile and adorable hazel irises.
"Sorry!" Mikan apologized with genuine concern. "I didn't mean to scare you!"
"It's fine." He winced at the sharpness and his tone and repeated, softer, clearer, "It's fine."
She beamed at him so bright he had to turn around but she just bounced up beside him and looked at him with an apprehensive expression. "Are you okay, Kitsu? Koko was frowning when he came back to the group saying he was really regretful about volunteering you, and you have been slumping around all week."
"How do you know my name?" he blurted before he could stop himself.
But Mikan just tilted her head to the side and laughed. "You've been in my class ever since I first came here! Of course I know who you are." She paused, contemplating something. "I thought we were friends. Aren't we?"
Her one-sided declaration surprised him. How many times had they spoken before? Very few, he knew, and hardly ever when nobody else was with them. But Mikan had always been the type to believe everyone she talked to was her friend, so Kitsuneme grinned. "Yeah. I guess we are."
Mikan's smile widened. "See? You look much better when you're smiling, Kitsu." The boy blushed and looked away causing her to laugh. "Well, I just came by to wish you luck for your graduation speech."
He blanched. "Oh, right."
"You shouldn't be nervous."
"Uh-huh."
"Really!" she encouraged. "There's a reason we all chose you to be valedictorian."
"Yeah, because nobody wanted Sumire goading the stage," he muttered.
Laughing, she brought out the sides of her gown like a child playing dress-up, her wavy brown hair fluttering down like a contrasting waterfall as she rocked on her heels. "No. That may be part of it, but the reason is because you always make us smile, Kitsu. And you always do it without trying so hard." She got up and walked towards the door, giving him one last reassuring glance. "Just be yourself."
And with that, she left.
Kitsuneme looked back into the mirror one more time before Narumi called him out to the stage, and he left the speech he'd been working so hard on sitting on the table.
-MK-
He used to watch all eyes follow Mikan around inside the classroom every morning before class, when she arrived exactly five minutes before the first bell. Now he felt the entire academy watching his every step as he took his spot in front of the podium. He cleared his throat audibly before leaning into the microphone.
"Uh, hello students and staff of Alice Academy. I'd like to welcome you to this year's grade eight graduation ceremony," he started nervously, scanning the crowd and seeing a thousand eyes staring right back.
"Get on with it!" a voice shouted from somewhere in the audience.
Mikan whipped around from the front row to glare at the boy who had spoken. "Shh, he was about to!" The seventh grader slumped back into his seat.
Kitsu smiled and Mikan's returning one made his own widen, especially as she put her hands in a thumbs up sign. He stood up straight and began again, "So, how were all the cookies at the back?" He motioned towards a table set up with trays of desserts and sweets.
"Delicious!" Nonoko called in, making the pink haired girl blush beside her.
Laughing, he continued, "Probably. They were made by our very own Anna Umenomiya. She's probably about the best cook I've ever met in my life, and I'm lucky to be graduating in her class." The gymnasium joined in with his laughing when Anna ducked her head to hide her red face.
"And the lights here—" Kitsu pointed to the groups of technology that lined the ceilings. "Well, only Hotaru Imai would be able to put those things together. I'd probably blow up the whole school if I tried."
Hotaru's face was still blank, but there was a small curve in her lips that couldn't be seen before as her best friend beamed brightly for her.
"There are so many people here that I'm proud to have known, to have met, to have been friends with," he went on, growing more confident at the now smiling faces that were pointed at him. "So right now—oh, you probably won't notice behind the mask of sweat I'm wearing at the moment, but I'm proud to be a part of this year's graduates. I really am."
There was another cheer as people in the front two rows started nudging each other.
"I came to the academy when I was just eight years old, and my very first thought was, 'Damn, this is one hell of a huge school!'" People chuckled and murmurs of agreement went across the crowd. "And it is. I think we're lucky to be here, if not for the education—'cause I sure as hell know that I probably got a D in every single class—"
"And you're still the valedictorian?" yelled another random voice, but this one wasn't unfriendly. It was mixed with chortles and smiles, and Mikan felt no need to scold the people calling out.
He grinned. "Well, I was was sorta volunteered for the job since the top two in our class kinda, ahem, dropped out of the position."
Yuu reddened and all of the eighth graders laughed, except for Hotaru who stated monotonously, "I refuse to be associated with that statement."
Kitsuneme resumed, "Yeah, so I failed these ridiculously difficult classes that probably only Natsume Hyuuga could ace without trying—" Natsume just leaned back in his chair with a bored expression on his face. "—but I'm glad I'm here, because if not, I wouldn't have met all of these awesome people."
The graduates cheered proudly at that statement. Kitsuneme kept going about his time at the academy, the people he met, how he thought Jinno was a total sadist, a thought that, while got everyone else practically falling out of their chairs, just got the math teacher to roll his eyes.
He talked about some stupid dreams him and his classmates had when they were younger, bringing back hilarious memories of the crazy assignments in Narumi's classes. Past dances and parties and insane activities just cracked the audience up, and talking about some of the things they went through with their senpais got Tsubasa and Tono chuckling in the back.
His speech was personal and connected to all his fellow classmates and people he knew of, whether they knew his name or not, yet it was still open and everyone in the crowd felt welcomed into the memories. They laughed and cried and yelled out random comments at random times, but it was an amazing dialect, one which they were surprised to learn had no planning or papers to prepare.
Even Natsume and Hotaru cracked smiles at some point.
When he was finishing up, a lot of the girls had smudged makeup whether from laughing too hard or crying at the touching moments he mentioned about the problems and dangers they faced. But the best part was that Kitsuneme looked like he was enjoying himself up there, like talking to the whole school was as comfortable as talking to his best friend.
Narumi had come up behind the boy with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, placing a hand on his shoulder to signal they were almost out of time.
Kitsuneme started to close up with, "And no matter what happens from now on, I'm sure we'll never forget what had happened so far, and we'll make even crazier and awesome memories in high school—if possible, considering how fun our past years have been."
Then he paused for the cheers and looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "Oh, and Mikan Sakura? Yeah, well I just wanted you to know that I've had a crush on you ever since elementary school. Thank you, everyone, and have a great day!"
And then he walked of the stage with a purposeful stride, leaving Narumi's shocked face behind him and the crowd whistling and cheering at the look of surprise on the brunette's.
-MK-
The ceremony had just let out and all the students filed out onto the field with their diplomas in hand and grins on their faces. It was an incredibly enjoyable celebration, and they all were super excited for the year to come.
"Hey, Kitsu!" Koko yelled, coming up beside the boy. "See? You were great! I told you! Ha! I told you! Everyone loved your speech!"
Kitsu clicked his tongue once before returning the smile. "It was fun."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Koko said, "Oh, thank God. I was worried you were going to kill me for volunteering you anyways."
"But you said it was good."
"And it was," Koko assured. "I almost peed my pants laughing."
"Too much information, dude."
"Ah, but I liked your confession!" At the other boy's blush, Koko's grin widened. "I knew you should've told her someday, I just didn't expect it to be today. At grad. In front of the entire academy."
He groaned. "Don't remind me. It was a spur of the moment thing like the rest of the speech! Before I realized what I said, I was already off the stage and Naru was closing up." He hung his head. "I'm never going to live this down."
"Hey, what happened to your amazing confidence?" Koko backed up.
"I maxed it out," Kitsuneme grieved. "No, I put it over the limit. No, I will probably never be able to feel confidence ever again and it—"
"Hey, Kitsu!"
"Ack!" He jumped at the sound of her voice for the second time that day.
Koko looked between the two before his permanent smile grew devious and he piped up, "I'll leave you two alone," before running away to bug a curly green-haired girl about his best friend giving off a better speech than she ever could.
Mikan held her hands at the sides of her adorable orange dress she had worn under the cap and gown for the etiquette. "You did an awesome job as valedictorian!"
"Thanks," he said nervously, playing with the diploma in his hand.
"Really! It was the best speech I've ever heard, and I don't think anyone else could have done any better," she told him truthfully.
He beamed at her compliment. "Thanks!" he said again, this time less shaky.
"I just wanted to talk to you about, um, the last part of—"
Kitsuneme paled noticeably. "Oh God. I'm so sorry for embarrassing you, Mikan, I don't know why I said it at that moment or why I couldn't have held it in, not that I don't like you because I do, I really do but it's just that I shouldn't have announced it in front of the entire school and you probably want to kill me for saying it too because it was so agitating for me and I have no idea how it might've been for you because—"
Mikan cut him off with a laugh, one of her soft soprano laughs that rang in his ears like a beautiful bell. "Don't worry about it, Kitsu! I wasn't really embarrassed so much as surprised."
"Oh," he sighed in relief, thankful for the chance to catch his breath. "Oh."
"Yep! I just wanted to know if you want to hang out more. You're really funny, but we hardly ever talk."
"You want to hang out with me?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course!" she exclaimed as if it were obvious. "If you talked to people more often in class, I'm sure they'd like you just as much as I do."
"Really?"
"Yes," she said again with a laugh. "Come on, all of us are heading downtown to get some pizza. Let's go before we miss the next bus!" Mikan grabbed his hand and pulled him along as she headed towards her big group of friends waiting by the bus stop to Central Town.
They all grinned when they saw him and broke out into a chorus of, "Hey, Kitsu!" Then they surrounded him and started to talk about all the things he mentioned in his speech and how hilarious it all was.
Mikan nudged him. "See? You were great. I told you." She said the exact same words his best friend had told him just before, yet it sounded so different coming out of her mouth. Her hand was still in his as she announced, "The bus is here!" and all the teenagers bustled to get on board.
Kitsuneme was looking forward to a very great year.
END
Thoughts? :)
~Jules
