Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. All credits go to the creator, Tachibana Higuchi.
Mikan was sitting alone on the patio of a popular café, Four Seasons Café. She was mindlessly spinning the straw that was in her cup. At that moment, she felt someone creeping up on her.
"Why, what's a pretty lady like you sitting alone out here?"
Mikan feigned a tight smile, "I'm just trying to spend some time alone, sir. I would appreciate if you could leave."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, ma'am" said the stranger, sitting down.
Mikan became more alert as she eyed the stranger suspiciously. "And why can't you do that?" she asked, subtly scooting her chair away.
"It wouldn't be safe to leave a pretty lady sitting by herself"
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself" Mikan declared.
"Oh really?" The man said, advancing closer to Mikan, "then what would you do if I-"
Mikan gasped as the man suddenly fell to the side, after being knocked over.
"Hey there, Mikan" Tsubasa said pleasantly, taking the man's seat.
"Tsubasa," Mikan chastised, after hearing the man groan on the floor, before he fell unconscious, "You didn't have to knock the man over."
"What if you got hurt?" Tsubasa said, feigning horror, "Natsume would kill me, if he knew that I didn't do anything about it when I was here!"
Mikan flinched at hearing Natsume's name. "I'm pretty sure he wouldn't care."
Tsubasa noticed the sudden change in tone in Mikan's voice. "Did something happen between you two?"
"Well" Mikan said, "Let's just say I said some mean things to him on the worst day possible."
"Worst day possible?" Tsubasa questioned.
"His mother's death anniversary" Mikan added quietly.
"You're right… that's today." He mused.
"Don't worry, Mikan" he said brightly, trying to comfort her, "Natsume usually doesn't stay angry at a person for a long time, to be honest, I'm not even sure if he's angry at you."
Mikan raised a brow in confusion before sighing, "Nope. I'm pretty sure he's mad. He even slammed the door right in my face."
Tsubasa stared at Mikan before laughing. "That's your reason for him being angry at you?" he said, chuckling.
Mikan nodded sadly.
"Oh Mikan, you're still the same as you were four years ago." He said offhandedly.
"What? You knew me from four years ago?" Mikan said, confusedly.
Tsubasa noticed his error a little too late. Trying to backtrack, he laughed nervously, "Why would you think that? I only presumed that you were the same from four years ago!"
"Oh… I see." Mikan said thoughtfully.
"Yup! Well, I'll be going now! Stay safe, Mikan." Tsubasa added, with a little wave before walking off.
Ring ring~
"Hello?" Natsume lazily answered.
"Is Miss Sakura with you?"
"Sebastian?" Natsume asked confusedly, "No, she's not with me. Why?"
"Your father asked me to prepare a car for him tonight… So that he can visit Miss Sakura"
"What? Why? Where?" Natsume demanded, suddenly becoming more alert.
"I don't know. Just be lucky that I even called to tell you." Sebastian said before hanging up.
Natsume ran outside to check if Mikan was still outside; no luck.
He took out his phone to make a phone call.
"Ruka, do you know where Mikan's at?"
"No… why?" Ruka asked apprehensively.
"Apparently, my father is coming to visit her today."
"What?" Ruka exclaimed, "Did you hear that Hotaru, his father is coming…"
"Yes, I heard what he said. Let's go find her" Hotaru said plainly.
Natsume coughed pointedly, "You're with Imai?"
"We were just walking around together." Ruka responded sheepishly.
"Try to find Mikan, okay? And call me if anything happens" Natsume said before hanging up.
Natsume knew that if he truly wanted to find someone, then he would have to call the best.
"Andou. Have you seen Mikan?" Natsume asked, after calling him.
"That's no way to say hello, Natsume, but what a coinky-dink. After talking about you to Mikan, you called!" Tsubasa replied, chuckling.
"You're with Mikan?" Natsume said with relief.
"Correction: I was with Mikan. I just left about 10 minutes ago."
"Where is she?" Natsume demanded.
"She was at Four Seasons Café, when I left."
"Go check if she's still there"
"What happened?" Tsubasa asked curiously.
"My old man's coming."
Mikan walked away from the café and walked aimlessly around the area. She stumbled onto an old landscape with a beautiful sakura tree. She wasn't much of a tree climber, but she decided to do so either way. After fumbling her way up, she found a sturdy branch that she could sit on. The view up there was so much better than if she was on the ground. With the sun setting and the light breeze that was tousling her hair around, everything felt so serene. She tried to be careful, as she made herself more comfortable on the branch. She felt her eyelids become heavier by the minute, until a car came up.
Someone came out of the car and opened the back door, and a man stepped out. His back was turned to Mikan, so she couldn't make out who it was. But with just the back, she found it to be very similar to Natsume's. She slowly climbed down and approached the man.
"Natsume?" She tentatively called out.
The man turned around, and his lips broke into a pleasant smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry; I've mistaken you for someone else." She said as she stared at a familiar pair of crimson orbs.
"It's quite alright, Ms. Sakura. What a coincidence, I was just looking for you." He said amiably.
"I'm sorry; I don't know who you are." She said, flabbergasted.
Still having his pleasant smile plastered on his face, "My name is Mr. Hyuuga, I'm an acquaintance of your parents. Our companies used to help each other."
Mikan bowed respectfully right after, "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hyuuga." She said. Momentarily after, "Are you by any chance, Natsume's father as well?"
"Indeed I am! He is my pride and joy. Are you acquainted with him?" he asked.
"We aren't on the best terms right now, but we are acquainted." Mikan replied.
"That's unfortunate to hear." Mr. Hyuuga said, expressing fake concern.
"It's alright." Mikan said with a wave of her hand, not noticing the artificial concern.
"Anyways, what business do you have here?" Mikan asked. With an afterthought, "Are you here to visit Natsume? After all, today is an important day."
"You know the significance of today for my family…?" he asked.
"Yes" she said, nodding.
He stared at her inquiringly. "Do you know the history of it as well?"
"No sir, I don't know."
"I see… Do you want to know?"
"I don't see the harm of knowing, so yes I do." Mikan said brightly.
Mr. Hyuuga seemed pleased. "Very well. However, if you don't mind, Ms. Sakura, I'd prefer if we talk about it somewhere else in private."
"Of course, sir. I understand." She complied.
They walked towards the car, when Sebastian intervened to open the door.
"It's you, the man that offered me the energy drink!" Mikan exclaimed.
"Ahh, yes. It seems that you know Sebastian. He is my right-hand man" Mr. Hyuuga claimed.
"I met him before." Mikan stated, as Sebastian opened the door.
"After you, Ms. Sakura." Mr. Hyuuga said, gesturing to the open door.
Mikan smiled, "Thank you."
The door closed momentarily after Mr. Hyuuga slid in.
"Go back to the office, Sebastian" Mr. Hyuuga called out.
"Yes sir." Sebastian said. He looked at the rear mirror, and saw Mikan looking content. He inwardly sighed and thought to himself, Natsume, I hope you're going to do something…
The car drove away from the landscape just as Natsume arrived.
"She's not here either…" Natsume grunted, as he walked towards the sakura tree. He punched the tree in distress.
Where are you… he thought.
"Is she picking up, Hotaru?" Ruka asked worriedly.
"No. She isn't." Hotaru said tightly.
"Where else could she be?" he inquired.
"Let's go check your room" Ruka suggested afterwards, as Hotaru nodded her approval.
Tsubasa ran back to Four Seasons Café, only to find Mikan's drink, but no Mikan.
"I shouldn't have left her alone" he groaned.
Where could she be, he thought.
He took out his cell phone and punched in several numbers.
"Tsubasa Andou. Can I please get on the line with Aoi Hyuuga?"
"Just a moment."
"Hi Tsubasa! What's up?"
"Hey Aoi" Tsubasa greeted warmly, "I need your help with something…"
Reviews&Constructive criticism are highly appreciated!