Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice
Hi! I'm really sorry for disappearing my internet just defied me for these past few days, and I need to buckle up for my upcoming exams as well. *sigh* well I promise I will try to keep updating constantly :)
Please enjoy!
"What is the music of life?"
"Silence, my brother."
-Skyrim
"Girls, just now, we found that Koko's cake had poison in it. You know what that means, right?"
"Someone had infiltrated inside," Misaki said glumly.
"Not a good sign," Mikan bit her lips.
"Anyway, we're leaving for the tour tomorrow morning," Sumire announced. "We'll be going in separate vans. Keep in contact with Bluetooth speaker. Report any anomalies immediately. Understood?"
Everyone nodded.
CRASH!
"WHAT THE HECK?!"
The sound came from Tsubasa's room. The four girls didn't waste any time and ran there. As they opened the door, they could see Tsubasa's window was broken, and there was a brick lying on the floor.
"Tsubasa! Are you okay?!" Misaki immediately approached Tsubasa.
"Y—yeah."
The three other guys barged in as well. "What was that sound?!" Koko shouted.
"What happened, Tsubasa?" Sumire demanded.
"I was idling on my bed when suddenly, a brick came through the window," he pointed at the brick. "That's all."
"Wait. Guys," Mikan approached the brick. She put on a rubber glove before picking it up. "There's an envelope attached to it." She unattached the envelope from the brick and opened it. Inside the envelope was a white paper with a huge broken tone printed on it, and two intimidating words:
IT'S FUTILE.
Weirdly, Sumire smiled. "So they're unnerved by our presence, huh?" she smirked playfully. "Girls, it seemed that it's going to be a really fun tour."
BANG!
Suddenly Misaki shot her gun outside the window.
"Someone was outside, on the tree," she murmured. "The presence was very faint, but it was certainly there for a moment before it disappeared. Must be a very skillful person. I couldn't hit that person, but I think my bullet must have grazed him or her."
"Let's see then if anyone is going to have a graze tomorrow," Mikan grinned.
"Alright. Tsubasa, your room shouldn't be occupied tonight. Do you guys have spare bedrooms?"
"Of course," Tsubasa said.
"Then we'll be sleeping there tonight. C'mon, lead the way." Misaki grabbed Tsubasa out. Tsubasa looked confused for a while, but followed Misaki willingly nevertheless.
"We should get some rest too. Tomorrow is going to be a long day," Sumire announced. With that, they dispersed.
Mikan followed Natsume to his room, where Natsume immediately undressed again. But this time, Mikan was determined not to be fazed. "Alright, good night, Hyuuga." She opened her suitcase and took out a blanket. She lay on his couch and tucked herself under the blanket before Natsume could say anything.
"You're sleeping there?"
"I'm sleeping here, yes."
"You're sure you don't want the bed? There's a lot of room for two people, y'know." Natsume smirked.
"Go away, Hyuuga. You have a girlfriend." Mikan turned around, so now she faced the backrest of the couch.
Then she felt something soft on her back.
"At least you can use some pillows."
Mikan found a head pillow and a bolster, and gratefully slipped them under her blanket. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Hn." Natsume rolled about on his bed, before Mikan could hear his steady breathing, signaling he's asleep.
Mikan unconsciously smiled. Natsume Hyuuga might not be the perfect gentleman, but at least he still had a heart.
"…and that's done!" Mikan put the last of her bags outside the mansion.
The guards took her bag into the van. She politely smiled at them. It was six in the morning, and they would be going for the tour soon. Everyone was loading their baggage into their respective vans.
"Mikan, where's your partner?"
"Oh. I think he's still in the room. I'll go there," Mikan rushed to Natsume's room, only to find him still in deep slumber.
"Hyuuga, wake up." Mikan shouted.
No response.
"Hyuuga." Mikan poked him.
To her surprise, Natsume grabbed her wrist subconsciously and tried to drag her to the bed. Mikan quickly twisted his arm out of reflex, and Natsume woke up. "OUCH! That hurt! What the heck are you doing to me while I was asleep?!" He yelled.
"You started it! You grabbed my wrist, half-asleep. It was reflex!" Mikan yelled back. "Whatever." Natsume yawned and rolled.
"Hey, wake up, Hyuuga. Everyone's ready. We're going soon."
"Don't care."
"WAKE UP!"
"Do me a favor."
"What?"
Natsume glared. "Get out of this room. I'll come out in thirty minutes."
"Order denied."
"I need to bathe and change my clothes. Unless you want to see me naked." Natsume threw her a challenging gaze.
Mikan blushed. "P—pervert!" She scrambled out of his room. "Move faster! I'm waiting outside!" She shouted before closing his door.
Natsume lazily stretched, like a cat after taking a nap under the sunlight. Oh, yes, the tour is today. He yawned as he walked into the bathroom.
He took his own sweet time to bathe and get ready, purposely to piss Mikan off. After forty minutes, he emerged from the room, only to face an irritated Mikan.
"Why are you so slow?! The others left already with their vans! We need to catch up soon before we get completely separated," Mikan grabbed Natsume's wrists and pulled him all the way to the van. She pushed Natsume in the van roughly and jumped in herself before calling out, "Alright, go!"
The van drove off, and Mikan took a walkie-talkie out of her jeans pocket. "Van number four leaving, van number four leaving. Requesting back-up, over."
After a static sound, Natsume could hear a faint reply. "Request accepted, back-up ready. I repeat, back-up ready, over."
Right after the van left the mansion grounds, Mikan spoke again, "Van number four out. Van number four out. Over."
Immediately three similarly-designed vans came out of nowhere and surrounded their vans.
Natsume raised an eyebrow, mildly impressed. "Is this back-up from Alice, too?"
"We always provide our best service, Hyuuga. Keep that in mind." Mikan put her walkie-talkie away.
The van was spacious. There was a bulletproof divider between the driver's seat and the back part of the van, which was occupied by Natsume and Mikan. The back part of the van consisted of a single bed, a small pantry with basic cooking equipment, some storage place, a television, a small couch, a toilet, and a small shower. There was another retractable divider that can hide the toilet and shower.
"This looks like a decent living place," Natsume scanned the surroundings.
"Because it is going to be one," Mikan said. "We're going to sleep here most of the times during the tour."
"WHAT?! You're asking me to sleep in that small bed?!" Natsume pointed the single bed.
Mikan shrugged. "If you like the floor or the couch more, I'll gladly take the bed. But I remind you, the roads may be rocky, so floor might not be your best choice. And the couch is small, I suggest you sleep in fetus position." She giggled, imagining Natsume sleeping like a ball.
"Stop laughing," Natsume glared at her. "The bed is mine."
"Alright, alright," Mikan tried to suppress her giggle. But at that time, her Bluetooth speaker buzzed. Mikan quickly turned into work mode and responded at once. "Yes?"
"Mikan?"
Mikan knew that voice. "Hotaru. What happened?"
"Another interference. Someone spread nails on the road. Now the wheels have to be changed—all four of them. Fortunately it didn't take long, with the help from the guards."
"Is Ruka okay?"
"Yeah, Nogi is fine. But Natsume's the one you should be worrying about, Mikan."
Mikan rolled her eyes. "Please."
"I'm serious. Don't you see the pattern? First Koko, then Ando, now Nogi. It's no coincidence—the culprit specifically targeted our van. If he or she didn't, it would have caught Sumire's van which was in front of us." Hotaru's voice was sharp. "And so…"
"…Natsume is their next target," Mikan concluded, her eyes now focused at Natsume.
Natsume blinked at her. "What?"
Quick question: should this story have a happy ending or a sad one?
Thanks for reading!
~sassgoddess
