Never Again Chapter 11, a gakuen alice fanfic

Chapter eleven! Wow, in the beginning i was expecting to be done in like, five or something...

Anyway, thanks to all my reviewer! That was supposed to have an s!

XxXmystic12XxX - I'm glad you weren't confused. I was afraid it was a little nonsensical, seeing as I'm not exactly the most coherent person on the planet.

JuSt To RaNdOm - high 5! ^.^ You're awesome too, just for reviewing so many times! .

greentulip - (were you on a sugar high...? a lot of laughing...) I'm not really a fashion geek either. I ran out of ideas and pieces together random clothes I've seen before.

kiers - I'm sorry if you couldn't understand it. I was trying to mix the two time zones, kinda like they were reflecting on the past (retrospect), but maybe I mixed it too much.

bunnyjumps - At the bar, basically, she was getting drunk to forget him, she looked good, there were pervs around her, she started dancing, natsume started dancing, and then they... you know...

Sakura Breeze - Yay! I love it too! Kind of! Okay maybe not! But yay! (I do love my work... to a certain extent.)

keraii - wait, it's "so-so" as in okay, or "so--so" as in you can't find the right word? Hm? O.o? And sorry about the confusion... it seems a lot of people didn't get it. Sigh.

-Tribal Addict- - I don't think she knows who was dancing with her; she was DRUNK. Like, big-time. And my Mikan is tripolar, so hmph! And I have read the Twilight series before it was popular (the first three) and... I don't like Edward anymore. Don't kill me peeps.

ThatGirl96 - My source? ...Um, actually... Health class. ...I know, right? Bleh. And other YA books like Twilight, etc. I have some idea, even though I haven't had "moments," romantic or hormonal. ...That sounded so wrong.

sakurapetal - Thanks so much!

Okay, before we begin, I have a few comments. I don't wanna put this at the end so you can scroll back up here when your done or read it now.

1. Cerise Magique was really random. You can tell me if you hates it or loves it, but don't kill me if you hates it, mmkay?

2. I got Kirakira by typing random words in a eng-jap translation website. I don't know any japanese.

3. Raiden Yukimura was also random. You can look it up (or if you know what it means, good for you) but there's no deep hidden meaning in his name. I think.

4. I really like the word random.

5. *read this at the end: Don't get your hopes up.

...

PeaCe!

Never Again

Chapter 11

"AHHHH!"

He groggily blinked his eyes open.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!?"

He had never been so happy to hear her screaming at him, despite the reason for her shrieks—

—oh crap, he had to explain to her before—

"WHAT DID YOU DO YOU P—mmph!" He quickly pushed her down and stuffed a pillow in her face.

"Shut up!" he said furiously. "The entire place will hear you!"

She pulled and grabbed at the pillow, and managed to get it far enough down so that she could glare at him darkly. She couldn't get it farther; despite all the strength she had acquired after the school discovered her second Alice, he was still a boy, and she was still a girl. As much as she—and the authoress—hate to admit it, boys are naturally stronger than girls…usually.

And because he was still a boy and she was still a girl, Natsume couldn't quite stop the unusual hotness spreading throughout his entire body when she gripped his wrists in her small hands and her eyes probed deeply into his.

And then he realized that the hotness might actually be because of the fire she had lit on his behind.

"What the hell—?!" he yelled. It took him another few seconds of hopping around that he realized he could extinguish the fire. He panted, "What—was—that—for?"

She looked at him coolly, already propped up against the headboard. "Wow, I never thought the Kuro Neko could become so stupid in just eight years," she said, looking slightly upwards as if she were thinking, with one finger mockingly pressed against her cheek. She continued in the same babying tone, "Oh right, he already was."

He gritted his teeth. "Look, I didn't do anything, okay?"

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Uh huh, sure," she said sarcastically.

"Really, I didn't. Last night, I saw you here, drunk. I just brought you here to save you from a real pervert," he said, as earnest as Natsume Hyuuga could get.

She bit her lip. "You didn't do anything?"

"Nothing."

"…Promise?"

He sighed. "I swear I didn't touch you inappropriately after I carried you up here."

"What about before?"

She was annoyingly sharp today. "I had to carry you up, didn't I? I don't know if you count that as inappropriate."

She closed her eyes and leaned back. "My head hurts."

He opened a drawer and took out the familiar pills, then headed to the bathroom to get a cup of water. When he returned, he handed both to her. "Here. You have a hangover. I'm not surprised, after all that vodka and whatever other stuff you had last night. You were dancing like a madwoman."

She swallowed the pills. "Yeah," she assented rather absently. Then, "Holy— What day is it today?!"

"Um, May—"

"Not the date, you imbecile! The day!" she half-screeched.

"Um, Sunday?

"What time is it?!"

"The clock's right there you know—"

"What TIME IS IT?!" Her voice made a dramatic crescendo.

"8:57, why?!"

"Gah!" She let out a string of curse words that somewhat frightened him in their quantity and variety. She placed a hand to her forehead in nervous habit, and scrambled out of bed, only to lose her balance and fall on the ground. Natsume, being on the other side, instinctively stretched out to catch her, but missed by about five feet. He could only watch as she tumbled over, eyes wide, cheeks flushed from panic. He froze for a millisecond after he heard the loud thud on the other side. Then he raced around to help her up.

But she was already in the process of dragging herself to her feet, and when he offered a hand, she glared at him.

Shocked, he let his hand fall as she turned and scurried to the bathroom. He hadn't been shocked by the glare; it was a natural occurrence nowadays. He had frozen at the intense pain that had flashed in her expression after the glare and before the thick curtain of hair swung down to hide her face. He knew that expression well, but not on her features. He was familiar with it because of the many times it had appeared on his own face when he was still new at the Academy.

He knew the feeling—being pushed into a cruel world as a bird that cannot yet fly, being stuck in a maze where you just can't turn around. Every choice determines fate. Every corner brings challenges, and pain. Every path has pebbles, stones, boulders, steep barriers. Many have experienced this feeling, actually.

But not so many know the pain of Natsume and Mikan—trapped in this world with no one there to help you.

Completely alone.

"Sakura-sama! Where are you?" the little earphone crackled. "I couldn't reach you for the past hour."

"I'm so sorry, Reika!" Mikan swerved into the company's parking lot. "I overslept."

"It's okay for now, they aren't here yet. The meeting doesn't start until 9:30, and it's almost 9:15. Where are you now?"

"In the elevator."

"That's fine. I have your papers all ready to sign. Are you prepared for the negotiations?"

"Of course, I got everything together a week ago."

"Oh, there's something else—"

"Tell me when I get there. I'm in the hallway now." Mikan turned off the phone, swiftly clicking to her office.

…Yes, she could have teleported, but Alices are supposed to be low-key, remember? Now hush.

"Sakura-sama, you're here!" Reika said in open relief.

Mikan quickly bowed. "I'm extremely sorry for my tardiness."

The secretary waved her apology off. "No harm done. Here are the contracts and other papers you might need."

"Thank you, Reika." Mikan sorted through the files and glanced at the contents, mentally reviewing her terms. "What was it you wanted to tell me?" she said, only half listening.

"Oh, I just wanted to warn you—the other company's heads are rumored to be real playboys. Make sure you don't fall for one of them."

The intercom buzzed on. "Sakura-sama, your guests have arrived."

Mikan pressed a button. "Please escort them to Conference Room 704."

"Sakura-sama—"

Mikan smiled at Reika and replied to her earlier statement, "Of course I won't fall in love."

Reika bit her lip in worry.

Natsume scanned through the online news headlines, coffee by his side.

Someone died… Terrorists bombed some building… Someone died… Celebrity scandal… Someone died… Politician scandal… Someone died…Mikan's company might merge with someone else's… wait, what?

He clicked on the link.

Fashion Legend and Playboys Extraordinaire Begin Negotiations

Young fashion prodigy Mikan Sakura will meet today with the co-founders of Cerise Magique, to discuss the possibility of Sakura Kirakira and Cerise Magique's merge. What is more likely is that Sakura Kirakira, being much larger, will buy Cerise Magique.

The internationally known accessories producer Cerise Magique was formed a few years ago by Raiden Yukimura and Akira Tonouichi, two famous playboys, who claimed they were trying to make all the women in the world feel beautiful. The name, Cerise Magique, seems to have been Tonouichi's. He said in an interview that he named his company after a woman—whom he called a cherry blossom—that he was enchanted by when he was younger. He refused to reveal her identity, but we assume she went to the prestigious Alice Academy with him. Now a twenty eight year old bachelor, he and twenty five year old Yukimura are both well known for their womanizing abilities. Cerise Magique produces high-end accessories: jewelry in particular, but also purses and perfume.

Mikan Sakura is a phenomenal fashion designer, at age twenty three. She owns a world-renowned brand, Sakura Kirakira, but also personally makes clothing for her long list of clientele. Sakura Kirakira produces all sorts of clothing for all ages in every season. Sakura's personal designs are included, but most of what she designs goes to her separate brand, Hanahime. Hanahime specializes in evening gowns and other formal wear for women. Sakura stated in an interview that 'Sakura Kirakira' came to her on a whim, while 'Hanahime' is from past experience. All she let out about this past experience was that" the title of Hanahime was very special if one was granted it." As she also is a graduate of Alice Academy, we could guess that Hanahime was, perhaps, a selective club or a prestigious award in the depths of the Academy.

Mikan Sakura is known well for her brilliance and coldness. In an interview about this merge, Yukimura said, "She's like a diamond. Or rather, her heart is—so precious, and so difficult to break." When Tonouichi was asked if his "cherry blossom" was related to Sakura, he cryptically replied, "My cherry blossom wasn't a diamond." We suppose he means that she isn't.

When Sakura was asked about the two, she said, "Tonouichi-san was my much respected senpai at the Academy. He occasionally visited our class as a substitute. He was a flirt even back then." However, she denied that he ever specifically paid attention to her. "I was very plain back then. I didn't attract much attention," she explained. She claims to never have met Yukimura.

Will the infamous womanizers capture her heart?