Mikan's POV

Finally!

… What do you mean, What Finally?

Hello? It's CRUISE DAY!

You know, I've been a real pain for the past few days… I mean, I can't stay my whole life depressed over Natsume, you know… I'll have to get over him one day or other… I'll start right now, in fact… It'll be hard, giving up my long-accumulated pile of deep feelings. But I'm not going to let this ruin my life. No way.

But, I'll try my best. Even if I have to restrain myself.

Hm… Maybe I'll try not to look at him at all today…

No, that's too hard… It's probably going to take more energy to avoid him than to face him.

I'm determined to be happy today… I'll put the depression off till tomorrow.

I made sure everything was in place, grabbed my black blazer and ran out of my room. I raced down the halls and huffed outside, where majority of my class were dawdling around by an open-aired bus, the transportation unit around school campus. I sighed. Despite the fact that I had woken up earlier than usual, I was still late.

I skipped over to where Nonoko and Anna were busy taking pictures of each other on their Gakuen Alice disposable camera.

"Nono, Anna, Ohayou!" I greeted them as I halted to a sudden stop before them.

"Ohayou, Mikan!" they replied, as usual.

I looked around and quickly scanned the group.

"Anna, Nono, where are Koko and Iinchou? And Hotaru and Natsume? And Ruka?" I asked as I got up on my toes and tried to see everybody.

"Um… Koko, he's right there," Anna said as she pointed her index finger to where the mind-reader was joking around with Kitsuneme, "and as for Iinchou, he's there, not far from Koko."

"I don't think Otaku-Onee-sama has arrived yet, so Hyuuga-san probably isn't here, and I don't think Nogi-san's here yet…" Nonoko said as she placed her finger on her chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Ooh, I see," I nodded, "I'm going with Ruka this time… Let me guess, Nono's going with Iinchou, Anna with Koko, right?"

They both nodded and smiled.

"Truthfully, though, Mikan-chan, we were thinking that you and Hyuuga-san would have gone together… I mean, Otaku-Onee-sama is nice and all, but her going with Hyuuga-san was unpredictable…" Anna said as she fiddled aimlessly with the joystick on the camera.

I laughed. What she said made me feel especially better, though.

"Ba—ka," I flicked both of my friends on their foreheads.

"Iitai!" Nonoko exclaimed clutching her forehead. Then she looked up and pointed behind me.

Instinctively, I turned around.

There was Hotaru and Natsume, with Ruka not far behind.

I ran towards them and greeted them.

"Oo-ha-yo, Hotaru, Ruka, Natsume!" I bounced in front of them.

I got the usual grunt from Natsume, a BAKA FLICK on the forehead from you-know-who, and Ruka smiled at me.

"Ne, Hotaru, why are you late? Oh, don't tell me that you spent the night at Natsume's?" I had a mischievous glint in my expression, and despite my heart not being very happy, I played my part very well.

Hotaru's eyes held a small laugh, and her pupils turned to the side where she looked at Natsume, being looking back at me, ".Tsu."

(AN: OMG, OMG, OOC, OOC-ness!! Oh, and for those who like anime but aren't a big fan of Japanese, Himitsu means, Secret.)

"Come on, Ruka-pyon! We're not going to disturb Hotaru-tachi anymore," I dragged Ruka's arm, and then said to the other two, "Have fun, Natsume, Hotaru!"

(AN: -tachi, as in Hotaru-tachi, means group. So if, let's say, Ran, Miki, and Su went to the mall, I might ask say, "Ran-tachi went to the mall.")

I met up with Anna and Nonoko again, where I proudly presented Ruka-pyon to them.

"TADA, the one and only Nogi Ruka is here!" I said to my friends and a bewildered Ruka just shook his head and looked at me as if I was a little child showing off a lollipop.

I was still happy to have Ruka's attention. I liked him truthfully, but my feelings for him could never compare to my feelings for Natsume.

Ruka sensed what I was doing and affectionately flicked my nose. I laughed.

(AN: OMG, despite being a die-hard NatsuMikan fan, I can actually survive Ruka courting our MIKAN!! LOL. Don't worry, people, I assure you this is to add oil to the flaming fire of jealousy a certain flame-caster is "nurturing".)

I turned my attention back to Nono and Anna, who were looking at me and Ruka with teary, puppy eyes. I sweat-dropped.

"Mikan, that was, that was…" Anna stopped to wiped a tear from her eye.

"…that was so sweet and picture-perfect!" Nono finished for the now touched-to-the-stage-of-waterfall-tears-and-a-handkerchief Anna.

I rolled my eyes and pushed them to their respective dates.

Natsume's POV

Oi, oi, aren't they getting too familiar with each other? Mikan and Ruka, that is.

I turned to Imai and like I had suspected, she had her blackmail recorder out, filming the whole thing.

"Oi, Imai, lay it off for a while, will you?" I placed my hand on the lens of the recorder.

She turned to me, emotionless. She then shrugged and turned off her camcorder.

Normal POV

Little did the two couples know that they had attracted a group of spectators commentating.

"KYA! They look so sweet together! I'm kinda hurt because Natsume-sama/Ruka-sama aren't going out with me but it doesn't matter~! Ruka and Mikan are so lovey-dovey, and Imai-san only responds to Natsume-sama's commands~! PERFECTTTTTTTT~!"

No comment.

Ruka's POV

We boarded our bus, and I sat with Mikan, while Hotaru and Natsume occupied the seat behind us.

Hyperactive, Mikan unbuckled her seatbelt the second we took off and twisted in her seat and kneeled so she was face to face with the people behind us.

"Ne, ne, how far are you guys? Did you guys kissed yet?"

Hotaru smiled at Mikan, and Natsume smirked.

Sakura's eyes widened and she smiled at their response.

"Ooh…" she said in child-like wonder, "Hey, let's sit together on the ship, okay?"

They probably gave a positive response, as my partner giggled and scooted back to her seat happily.

I had to smile at the care-free atmosphere.

We sped out to the exit of our campus and proceeded to go to the only exit and entrance of Gakuen Alice, where we got off and boarded another bus, which this time, was more luxurious, with seats facing each other, as in 

"Seat 1" faced "Seat 2", and "Seat 2's" back was connected with the seatback of "Seat 3". Then, "Seat 3" faced "Seat 4", and so on.

Mikan and I sat on Seat 15, with Hotaru and Natsume across from us on Seat 16.

The girls spent the rest of the time singing along to their mp3s. Mikan and Hotaru surprisingly had very matching and harmonizing voices. As for Natsume and me, we just dug our earphones deep into our ears (not that Hotaru and Mikan killed our ears... We're human and we have our own interests, too~) and were settled down with a manga (Natsume) and the next edition of "PETS", the counterpart of PEOPLE for pet-lovers.

Hotaru's POV (Speculation Version, No Detail)

We arrived at the harbor. (Oh, for Kami's sake, the harbor's name was Port Alice!)

We're now on the ship. (Oh, again for Kami's sake, the ship's name was Oriole Alice! Seriously, did we even leave Alice Academy?)

We're now in our respective seats. (Nope, sadly, the seats were just called seats, not Alice Cushions whatsoever, so I can't blame Kami-sama again.)

It's time to take off.

We're now feasting on Alice Pies and Alice Cookies and other Alice Foods.

It's dance/gossip/relax/nap/free time.

Mikan's POV

By the time the music blasted through the speakers, the ship was in total pandemonium, except those who had the Sound Alice who successfully blocked out the music and were peacefully playing Chess with each other.

I took off my blazer and put it the Ship Locker Room, where my bag and personal belongings were.

Hoping for some peace, I failed to find Ruka and the others, so I sneaked outside to the top deck, where it was just the sea and me. I leaned against the railing and took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air of the Alice Ocean. It felt good, it really did. With the breezy yet refreshing wind that was dancing around the atmosphere and the mesmerizing path of the water as the ship sliced through the sea.

I leaned towards the sea. I had a firm grip on the railing, and I knew I wasn't going to fall. I looked into the clear water and tried to clear out my clouded thoughts.

"Oi, get back."

"Hm?" I looked towards the source of the voice. It was Natsume.

"It makes me nervous when I see people like that. Get back."

I did as he said, delighted that he was there.

"Daijoubu," I said, "I won't fall."

Despite the fact that I said I'll be fine, I got back and planted my feet on solid ground. Not feeling comfortable, I placed my hands on the railing again and leaned towards the sea, but not as much as to set Natsume off again.

Natsume walked beside me, and leaned on the rail too, but unlike me, his back was to the sea, while my front was to the sea. It seemed like a really romantic position, but I've grown out of my fantasy stage.

"Hey, Natsume, you know about the legend in the Oriole Alice?"

"No."

I closed my eyes and thought back to the sign I had saw when I entered the ship. The elegant writing on the sheet of gold came flooding back to me as I started the story.

"When the Oriole Alice was first built, it was named the Titantic II, It was like a floating palace, nowhere as extravagant as the Titantic, but modest, and beautiful. During its first three-week cruise, a wealthy foreign young man whose family had donated loads of money was invited. The man's family name was Oriole, Elliot Hanson Oriole. Despite the lack of continuity in his name, Elliot was a well-mannered and kind lad. He was intelligent and was fluent in Japanese, despite being of British origin

"One day, while Mr. and Mrs. Oriole was having tea with an important higher-up, Elliot decided to visit the captain, whom he had a good relationship with. They had a nice chat, and Elliot left. The spunky by took a detour and by chance, met a timid but beautiful lady who was a maid on the ship. Despite their social difference, they soon fell in love. Elliot went back every hour to "visit the captain".

"'What's your name?' Elliot had asked the maid.

"'Ari, sir,' the lowly worker had answered.

"'Why, what a nice name!' Elliot had exclaimed. 'My name is Elliot. Elliot Oriole.'

"Those two grew closer and closer, when one day, Mr. and Mrs. Oriole brought Elliot to a gathering with one of their close friends, the Suzuki's. They had the same social standing as the Orioles, and they had a daughter named Su Suzuki.

"'My, you do have an interesting name, Suzuki Su-san,' Elliot had said to Su.

"At this, Su Suzuki began to blush and later broke down in tears. It was apparent that Elliot was not the first one to approach Su with this comment.

"At this, Elliot felt shame wash over him and approached Su again, apologizing.

"'Suzuki-san, I didn't intend to hurt you in anyway. I think Su Suzuki is a beautiful and unique name.' he had said.

"They soon fell in love, and the parents of Su and Elliot were delighted. Ari, seeing this, decided to stay out of Elliot's sight. Despite the fact that she loved Elliot like no other, she knew what she had to do. Elliot, despite courting Su, searched for Ari, but failed to find her.

"Ari watched with tears in her eyes as she overhears Mr. and Mrs. Suzuki and Oriole announced Su's and Elliot's engagement.

"Ari knew that they'll never end up together, and she silently wished Elliot the best of luck. The night before Elliot's departure, she crept to his room and planted a kiss on Elliot's lips. Elliot, ecstatic to see Ari, didn't let the maid go, and they spent the night doing whatever lovers do.

"Despite everything, Elliot and Su eventually did get married, and Ari went on her own path. Thus the ship's name was changed to Oriole AriSu (Alice), in honor of the legend that started the whole curse of unlucky singles that set foot on the ship."

I looked at Natsume, and it seems as if he was softening up to the story.

"That was sweet, wasn't it?" I asked him.

He nodded.

"You know, I can kind of understand how Ari felt. I don't blame and hate Su though. It's one of those situations, you know?"

He nodded.

"The thing is, I've been in that kind of situation."

Natsume turned his attention to me, "Maji?" (AN: 'Maji desuka' means 'Are you kidding me?' or 'Are you serious?' But as I have to maintain Natsume's cool demeanor, I shall leave it as 'Maji?')

I nodded, turning into Natsume-Nodding Machine 2.

"I see…"

I snapped back to reality and suddenly realized that it was getting chilly on the deck. Being wrapped in the warm fantasy before, I didn't realize the change in temperature. I shivered unknowingly.

Natsume turned his attention to me again, and he dropped his blazer on me.

"Oi, seriously, take care of yourself, at least. I'm going to be toasted if Persona finds out his favorite is sick."

I laughed and pulled the blazer around my shoulders. It had Natsume's scent on it, and it was a size too big. The wide sleeves made me feel fragile.

Natsume stopped leaning on the railing and slid down to sit on the floor of the deck. I followed suit.

"You know what you said about you experiencing the Oriole AriSu legend?" he inquired.

"Yeah…"

"Can you tell me about it?"

My cheeks heated up and turned red. I felt it.

I shook my head, "Gomen nasai, Natsume, but it's too embarrassing, and plus, you probably won't understand."

Natsume looked at me, "Well, does Ruka know?"

I thought for a while. "Yes, he does now."

Natsume looked away, "I see…"

We sat in silence.

"So it's my fault that you won't tell me?"

I bit my lip.

"Oh, I get it. Ruka's your boyfriend."

Ugh, Natsume… Do you know how hard this is? My mind searched for an excuse, any excuse.

I spoke, "Natsume, you just won't understand."

Natsume looked at me with a pained expression.

"So it is my fault."

I start crying. Out of nowhere, it just had to be in front of Natsume that Kami-sama started summoning my tears.

I reached over and hugged him, taking in his warmth, not caring about my embarrassment in hugging Natsume.

"Gomen nasai, Natsume, gomen…" I sobbed onto his shoulder.

He said nothing, but he wrapped his arm around me.

And then everything was fine.

Ruka's POV

Mikan didn't know it, but I saw everything.

Hey, people! How did you like it?

I hope you really enjoyed it.

And I hope you continue to stick with me, because the Cruise was only the first part. (glint)

Not only do we have to finish Ruka's growing jealousy, what about drama~? BWAHAHAHA~ 3

But I have the perfect idea for NatsuMikan and Rukaru... XD

So reviews please, and I'll update as soon as I can!

See you, everybody!

Clapping Reflection