Chapter 1
Oblivion
By: tangerine kisses
Disclaimer: I don't own gakuen alice… too bad…
"Oi, mikan? Are you listening?"
Anna complained, her ragged pink hair tied into a messy bun. She wore a scowl on her pretty face, her eyes flashing with a hint of annoyance.
"huh? nani? Anna-chan?"
She said, her brown pools blinked.
Once.
Twice…
She tilted her head oblivious to the stares directed at her.
They sat on the black silken chairs, around the long antique table inside the main conferencing room, currently discussing their new products and upgraded services.
She sat on the head of the table, her elbow propped up the desk. Her hair tied into a careless bun, she had a tint of lip gloss on and light blush-ons.
But it didn't conceal her eyes that sat with a hint of boredom.
On her right sat Hotaru, emitting a light sigh.
Down the table were her executives.
She stared at her right, glass windows that were complimented by a touch of pink elegance.
Outside, fog had started to dissipate. She was sure, that cold winds were now surrounding the busy city.
Good thing she brought her pink scarf, the one she found lying by her fireplace last Christmas Eve, 5 years ago…
She was thrilled to see her name, seamed on the end of cloth. On the upper right corner, she noticed a mark, burned on its tips, a clover and a white one at that.
She sighed as the memory sank back as a reminder.
Never to be forgotten, but oblige to be gotten over with.
Something that would just be a forever memory of what has and what had.
Just a recollection of hauntingly beautiful moments which would remain as moments forever.
She felt a sigh struggling to get through, but before she could bit it back; a hard object knocked her back out of breath.
It collided with her head, and she recoiled in shock.
"ITAI!!!!"
"Baka"
"HOTARU! What did I do?!!"
"Spacing out, as usual."
"nande?! I wasn't!"
Currently standing, from her last position she stared hardly at her stoic best friend.
She wore a disbelieved expression on her flushed face, and a pout on her lips.
"mikan wa… you've never changed a bit" Nonoko said, tilting her head from left to right.
She stared at mikan, a smile gracing her lips.
mikan was still mikan, she clutched her head probably from the pain inflicted.
Beside her, anna erupted from laughter.
"ne, hotaru. You still had that baka gun with you?" Anna chocked
"eh, I thought I would have some use for it"
"hidoi! Mou! Hotaru!" Mikan cried, she sat back on her chair.
"that'll teach you to listen next time."
Before she could retort, nonoko had her to it.
"ne, minna-san. Let's continue this tomorrow. It's getting late."
Everybody nodded and stood up one by one, bid their goodbye's and silent thank you's
"Good job, everyone…" she said, smiling and shaking hands with everyone.
"ne, mikan. Ruka's picking me up tonight. Would you-" she stared at her bestfriend, expecting some kind of approval.
"iie, I'll manage home by myself. Thanks" hoyatru nodded to her, her black hair bodding slightly,
"ok then, ja."
"ja"
Once again, she was left alone; she sighed and sat back from her seat.
She stared at the pinkish ceiling, made as she requested.
She sighed again, it has been exactly 2 years ever since their company grew.
Managed by no other than Hotaru Imai.
It was one autumn day, she had been fired from her job again, and she was left to wander by the park.
It had been a late afternoon, and the children who used to play around had already left for home.
She sighed again.
Sighing had been her past time lately hadn't it?
She sat by the old bench that creaked on the right side when sat on. She buried her head in her arms, silently cursing her ill-fated luck.
She almost jumped when she detected a changed in the bench weigh. Before she could identify the person seated coordinately from her, it let out a very familiar sigh.
She sharply turned her head, and what greeted her made her take a gasping intake of breath.
"Hotaru."
"hisashiburi… desu ne?"
"hontou wa hotaru ga?"
"eh, mikan"
She let out a cry of relief, and hugged her so tight.
Ever since then, they had been seeing each other more often than before. They regained their friendship, and rebalanced their company.
Hotaru offered her a job at her company as the head of the charity division. She discovered that Hotaru had inherited her families company, after the death of her father.
Her mother had died a year later, a terrible case of isolation and seclusion.
She had asked Hotaru, for slight condolence.
But she had been brushed off, saying she needed nothing but her and her company.(as her friend, not company/corporation)
Her heart had lurched from that very fact, and ever since then.
She did everything willing or not, for her one and only best friend.
It'll be an understatement if she said that she was shocked when hotaru offered her the head position of the company, she had clearly denied the offer.
She had then asked why she would do such a thing, and a stony reply she received that made her almost cry.
"Because I trust you, mikan"
She was forced to take the head chair, when hotaru had threatened her to dispose her of her job, she had no where to go and she loved her job in the company.
At first she had a hard time, disposing of her bad habits and managing thousands of workers.
She had been demeaned and humiliated, but her perseverance had tripled after.
She had not been afraid of competition, not at all but the Hyuuga Corporation, she learned of that competing company 2 months after she had taken position.
Her heart lurched and crumpled, from the hope she felt, and the disbelief. It had reminded her of none other than Natsume Hyuuga, the perverted playboy from their class.
Campus no.1 heartthrob his fan girls would kill just to have him company, or hold his hand. But this hottie didn't mind his sexy fan girls that would kill, just to have a piece of him.
He took notice of the campus klutz, crybaby, and carefree mikan sakura.
He always teased her non-stop, whether of her stupidity or polka dotted underwear, well ever since she tripped in front of him and UNINTENTIONALLY showed him her 'panties'.
Surprisingly, they became close, shared their moments and heartfelt feelings, ever since she found him sitting back on the lone sakura tree by the campus.
He was sleeping, probably since he stayed up all night in his dormitories, doing whatever he should've please.
She sat beside him, and propped his head atop her lap. She didn't notice that he had woken up slightly, well, since he didn't say a word.
Not.
One.
Bit.
She played with his unruly locks, brushing them out of his closed eyes; she sighed and smiled, remembering his mean remarks and his annoying smirks.
She leaned back and closed her eyes, unnervingly straddling his locks.
Her hair had flown in parallelization with the warm winds, her lips gracing a special smile.
She hadn't known why, but she felt safe and comfortable with him, counted that he annoys the hell out of her. Though he had been the meanest and coldest boy around the academy, she knew he was special.
They had been 13 then, but they known each there since they were 10.
'Damn him'
They've become almost inseparable, rivals but silently friends.
It had been a clear state of denial, though they had had the guts to bring hell to their selves and those around them, they hadn't had the guts to acknowledge their growing relationships, their sudden worries and sometimes cases of jealousy.
Hotaru and Ruka hadn't been a great match, due to their bothersome best friends they hadn't come off good together, considering Hotaru's deeming black-mailing personality, they hadn't gotten off a good start.
But shockingly, during their 3rd year on the academy campus, ruka 'the animal loving' and hotaru 'ice queen' had hooked up, and suddenly decided they liked well probably loved each other, since it's almost 5 years and still they have had each other.
Speaking of 5 years, their indifferent group had made it tradition to spend Christmas together.
But since, there blasé best friends had decided to spend their first Christmas Eve ALONE together.
That left the world's damned and apathetic couple to be ALONE too.
Too tired and lazy to bother, they had Chinese take out and burned popcorn to work on.
Propped up on mikan's couch in front of the fireplace, they started their stringing along well, propping on strings and strings of burnt popcorn, with Christmas love songs tuning in and out of the radio.
When ruka and hotaru had returned at 3o'clock in the morning to celebrate Christmas day, they had found mikan and natsume sleeping, side by side, on the white furry couch.
Illuminated by the fire, natsume's arm had been around mikan, while mikan was leaning in, her head buried on the crook of natsume's neck.
Strings of burnt popcorn, left ignored atop the brown wooden desk.
They shared a pink blanket, oblivious to the searching eyes, uhmm, searching them.
Hotaru had clanged pots together, before the two almost jumped out of the frilly couch that left ruka laughing, and the apathetic couple flushing red like mad.
After they had celebrated, with natsume complaining from mikan's unnervingly inability of not being able to cook and him suffering from Chinese take out food.
The three had left with silent greetings, and hidden gifts in the house.
She had first found ruka's, hidden atop the kitchen counter.
It was a book, Christmas carols.
She had loved the play the school presented when they were 10, and she still loved it now.
Next, she found hotaru's hidden behind the Christmas tree, she probably thought that was where mikan would search last.
The purple box consisted of a brand new phone, well since she had lost hers last month in the hike.
The gift had the inability of being a hotaru remembrance, since it portrayed hotaru's love for gadgets and gizmo's a plenty.
It was a pink flip phone, decorated with glittering butterflies; she had taken great care in it, as to why it explains that she still has it now.
She sat by the center couch, thinking hard where would natsume's be?
She had searched the place everywhere, heck!
She even went through her underwear closets, since natsume is and was a freakin pervert.
She stared at the fire place; she caught sight of a pink cloth, laying up her hearth.
She didn't remember having a pink cloth?
She examined the cloth, and noticed it was a scarf.
A smile graced her lips, that special smile of hers that seemed all heart out.
The end of the scarf had been adorned by a small glittery line, which had been revealed to be her name, and up by the right corner, a mark had been left. It had a small burnt mark, and a clover adorned in silver glitter.
She had found it, she should've known. As she sat by the fluffy couch, she wore the scarf around her neck, protectively.
She buried her face atop the scarf and whispered silent prayers.
"arigatou, natsume…"
As the scenes replayed in her mind, she hadn't noticed that she had already reached her office room.
She gathered her things, the pink folder her white purse and her pink scarf.
She checked her mobile for any messages, and smiled as she admired the glittering butterflies that adorned it.
She took notice of the time and realized that it was already quarter to 11.
She walked swiftly to the gathering elevator, noticing that it had been she again, to leave last.
She sighed, entered the elevator and pressed the ground button.
She observed the orange lights, slowly gaining down wards speed, she sighed again as she closed her tired eyes, while as the elevator door opened to her destination.
Before she could step out, the crane she had been occupying had offensively shook, the lights went off and on.
Her eyes widened, and belatedly she saw shocked crimson eyes, widening, a disheveled appearance before she let out a strangled scream.
A hand shot out, grabbed her arm and jumped down with her as the elevator fell.
It wouldn't hurt to leave a review ne? ….
Ja,
Tangerine kisses