A/N: I know it's late, but here's Chapter 1! I hope you guys enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of the characters I'm using.

Chapter 1

Early in the afternoon, Natsume was sitting behind his large mahogany desk in his office when a knock from the door came.

"Enter."

"Hey, Nii-san!" It was none other than Aoi Hyuuga, in her school uniform, who came running towards his desk and sat herself in the chair opposite to his. Aoi Hyuuga, the next in line heir to the Hyuuga Empire if there comes a time that something unforeseeable and unfortunate that might happen to the heir, Natsume Hyuuga. Not far from reality now, is it? At the sight of his sister, Natsume's thoughts couldn't help revert back to the tragic news he just received during the weekend. He would never hand over the company and all its shit to his innocent sister. He could just imagine all the two faced gold diggers under his company taking advantage and controlling his sister. Over his dead body. He thought grimly; and almost smirked at the irony. Time is running out. He had to do something, and fast.

"Hey." Natsume greeted and set aside the pile of papers he was browsing which accumulated during the weekend he was away. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Well, yeah. But don't you like me visiting you?" Aoi grinned. There she goes again, ditching schools. But Natsume did not bother lecturing her about it. It's not like he had the perfect attendance when he was in high school. Heck, he'd be far worse than Aoi if you're talking about attendance. Anyway, the school wouldn't even dare touch their immaculate transcripts even if the principal will threaten to quit. Why? Well, the Hyuuga's have funded a lot of school projects throughout the years and established scholarship and charity programs for the school. This means that they're a shareholder of the academy; and a huge one at that.

"So, what's wrong?" Natsume now gave his sister his undivided attention, crossing his elbows and leaning back on his chair.

"I heard."

What the fuck? Did those two seriously tell her?! He gave his sister's face a once over and tried to find any trace of emotion at all that would tell him hints if she really knew about his condition. There's no telling what she'd do if she found out abou-

"Ruka and Hotaru are getting married!" She squealed with delight as Natsume simultaneously released a huge sigh of relief. The mini heart attack he experienced might kill him sooner than his freaking condition.

"Yes, a few months from now." And he'll be lucky if he'll still be alive to attend. "Is that all? I have to go somewhere." Natsume grabbed his suit standing up.

"But Nii-san, I just arrived!" Aoi also stood up and quickly circled his desk and encircled her arms to his. Natsume was a foot and a half taller than her. He was beginning to wonder when will Aoi be acting and looking her age. She pouted, "I don't even see you at home anymore."

"Well, that's because I've got a lot of work." Natsume did not make a move to remove his sister's arms on his despite the fact that he was not comfortable being touchy with other people (well, other people except his sister). He noticed that she was recently being particularly clingy.

"Yeah, yeah, that's all you do nowadays, huh?" Aoi removed her arms and looked to the ground dejectedly.

Natsume sighed, yet another drama which he doesn't need in his life. Seriously. First, his best friend and his best friend's wife last week; and now, his sister. He knew that he was not himself. However, these days, he was simply resigned with work and life, in general.

Natsume looked for any clues as to why his sister was not in school - cases of bullying, teacher offenses, or fights… Finding none, a look of understanding washed over Natsume's face as he smiled and simply patted her head, "Tell you what, I'll go visit you and we'll go somewhere next week." He knew how difficult it is living with alone with just an army of maids and butlers at command.

He moved out of the Hyuuga residence 3 years ago to study abroad. And when he returned to fill in a position at the Hyuuga empire, the thought of going back to his old home did not appeal to him anymore. It brought back too much memories. Thankfully, Aoi, on the other hand did not question his decisions. He would've brought her with him to his grandiose apartment (care of old Hyuuga relatives he stayed with abroad) which was nearer to the Hyuuga Empire headquarters. But when he asked, Aoi simply smiled and refused, saying, "Someone has to take over stuff at home." He didn't allow his mind to wander at territories he barred since childhood. And because of that, he did not dig deeper into what Aoi meant with her words and simply consented with her decision. It's not as if the money to maintain the mansion will be coming off his pockets. They were coming from the relatives; or if not, their inheritance. The trusted adviser of the Hyuugas, Han, acted as their guardian before Natsume turned eighteen. And it's thanks to him that he and Aoi survived. Both of them knew nothing about anything back then, let alone handling the legal contracts their parents left them and paying bills.

Aoi, hearing what her brother just said, instantly beamed and hugged him (or more like tackled him). "I love you, Nii-san!"

And that's when he promised to himself he wouldn't let the burden of being a Hyuuga entailed befall on his sister. He'd fix it. He just have to figure out how.

When he said he had to go somewhere, he really had some place to be. After driving his sister back to the Hyuuga residence, he drove straight to the agreed meeting place downtown. He'll be meeting Hotaru and Ruka to discuss their conditions in keeping his little secret.

-Flashback-

"Imai." He gritted his teeth, quickly finishing buttoning his white polo shirt. Curse her inaudible self, curse his lack of attention as well. Well, well. He should have expected it. After all, he knew that wherever Ruka went these days, he brought along his fiancé. Although he still couldn't imagine that Hotaru allowed Ruka to just drag her along. She wouldn't seem the type. Silently, Natsume berated himself with a string of curses until Hotaru's words cut him off.

"I heard all of it." She calmly as usual stated, walking forward. Ruka on the other hand looked like he was about to lose it.

"What are you talking about Natsume?!"

I guess there's no turning back now. He thought.

Sighing, he recounted to them the nitty gritty details of the events of last night omitting his solitary drinking session from his story for reasons he considered gravely embarrassing. One, he did not see the need to let Ruka and Hotaru know of his angsty moments alone. Two, he did not remember it happening at all. The only proof and reminder of it was the text message he sent from his phone. Heck, he did not even notice it at all until Ruka showed him his own text the morning after.

"There. That's it. I don't have time for this." Natsume crossed his arms.

"You haven't even gotten a second opinion from another doctor." Hotaru, now sitting with his fiancé, looked at Natsume straight in the eye with confidence, daring him to contradict and probably looking for indications of deception.

"Yeah, Natsume. And even if you do have… that, you shouldn't give up!" Ruka, the always positive, chimed in.

Natsume took his time to answer, rubbing his temples. He was now sitting down in front of them in the sofa of his bedroom. He didn't intend for these two to find out. But, when it came down to it, he's thankful for that they were the ones to know. If there would be any 2 people in this world he'd share this secret with, it would be the two of them. His closest friends (although Hotaru might not seem to like the notion of being labeled his friend). He just couldn't imagine if it was Aoi who found out or one of the shareholders (unlikely, but hey.) of the Hyuuga Empire. And he knew for a fact that if it were one of those scumbags, they would immediately take advantage of the situation and throw him out of his position. They'd have the company to themselves while they wait for Aoi to turn of legal age, which is still 2 years from now. And when she turns eighteen, it would be too late for the company.

Just thinking about it made his blood boil. He knew for a fact that there's only one of them who controls almost half of the decisions of the board. He knew it ever since the day he saw with his own two eyes how his parents died. Only Ruka knew about his story. And it's a secret they vowed to themselves to never tell.

During college, he hit it off with a lot of parties and drinking. These kept him nonchalant about the thoughts that haunted his mind whenever he's alone. However, once reality hit him hard when he graduated and was unwillingly placed in the vice president position, he decided that it is also his responsibility to keep his parents' legacy and protect it the way they did. He did not intend to create fire with the board and create unhelpful conflicts. But if it was a necessary move to ensure the protection of his parents' legacy, the Hyuuga Empire, and Aoi, he'd do it. For now, he'll lie low and devise his plan. He has no time for healing treatments. Treatments, in fact, can suck it for all he cares. Right now, his main goal is protecting what he cared for the most at the quickest way possible.

"There are other things more important right now." Natsume opened his eyes revealing crimson orbs and looked at both his friends' faces in front of him, washed with worry (even Hotaru).

"What could be more-"

Before Ruka could finish, Natsume interjected, heading towards the door only pausing his stride to speak. "I have to go meet Persona."

And at the mention of the name, the worry infiltrating Ruka's expression a while ago was immediately changed into some form of a look of understanding.

"Meet us tomorrow afternoon." Hotaru also stood up. Natsume was about to decline the offer, knowing for sure that it will only lead to pointless discussions about life, in general, and himself. However, it was Ruka who now interrupted him.

"If you want us to keep your secret!" There was that glint in his eyes Natsume rarely saw but had known for so long. He said those words so fast that Natsume almost did not catch it. Typical Ruka. He knew it. He and his scary fiancé wouldn't back down without a fight. But maybe that's the reason why the three of them were friends in the beginning. Although the fight he was about to enter was on an entirely different league from theirs. This one's towards a path of revenge and takedown.

-End of flashback-

When he almost ran over a stray dog crossing the street, it was then that he told himself to give those thoughts a break. He arrived at the destination and parked his car.

They agreed to meet at a café near their workplace, a fifteen-minute drive from his office. It was a quaint little café with few people, far from those coffee shops which were always jammed packed with business men on their meetings or cramming/studying students. There's not a lot of people, period. And that was definitely to his liking. With his previous life of the party self during high school and college, crowded places can even go as far as be called his domain. However, he was never fond of crowded places, although he was very used to it.

When he entered, he immediately spotted Ruka and Hotaru sitting in the corner table with their steaming coffees. They were holding hands talking about something serious just with the look of their faces. When Ruka spotted Natsume, he waved at him and Hotaru immediately withdrew her hand, placing them on her lap.

Natsume walked over to their table with practiced graceful strides. Ruka's smile faltered. It was replaced with him looking nervous as hell with eyes opened wide and mouth stretched as far as it can go, presenting Natsume a full view of all his teeth. Hotaru, on the other hand, looked different. She still has that indifference with her that she carried wherever she went. But today, along with that indifference, there was something in her eyes that looked like she was cooking up some kind of a plan.

"Hey." Natsume greeted both, taking a seat. He noticed that they already ordered him a cup of coffee. And was about to take a sip.

"Hey, man!" Ruka over-enthusiastically patted his back, making Natsume almost drop his coffee. Almost. Natsume raised one of his perfect eyebrows and gave him an incredulous look.

"Are you high?"

Ruka merely laughed nervously once again. And before his best friend can make a fool out of himself more, his phone rang and he rose from his seat to take the conversation elsewhere so as to not disturb Hotaru and Natsume. Hotaru spoke up.

"You won't get treatments." It was not a question, Natsume noticed. Hotaru was a know it all genius, and he hated her sometimes for that. However, when she makes conclusions, it's not always entirely wrong. There are times that she's spot on. Like today.

Natsume simply nodded, placing his coffee on the table. "I have my reasons."

"We won't pry anymore. It's not like there's any use to persuading you." Hotaru told him. She spoke with confidence that told him she have thought about this for quite some time. "If there's anything I've learned after knowing you for so long, it's that you're one tough nut to crack."

Again, spot on. When Natsume sets his mind on something, there's no way he won't do it. He did not give a reply, and merely glanced at Ruka over the phone at the entrance of the café. And she moved on.

"Because of this, we are proposing something." He knew this was coming. And he was prepared for it, really. Before he can state his opposing rebuttal, Hotaru continued to speak, cutting his words that about to roll at the tip of his tongue. "If you want us to keep the end of the bargain and hide your secret."

Natsume didn't know what to feel. He almost felt betrayed.

"We know you won't get treatments, so we consulted a doctor for you. There will be a trigger, which can put you in a critical condition. Once triggered, your cancer will be activated and will continue to worsen." Hotaru breathed. "He says that your cancer is not progressive as of the moment. So what you are experiencing are the effects of it."

What the hell, what did the doctor know? Natsume's a hundred percent sure that the doctor she asked did not even know him.

"How are you so sure?" Natsume asked, unbelieving to what Hotaru just said.

"We consulted five doctors. And we took into account every detail you told us last time we talked." Leave it to them to talk to five doctors within a weekend. Natsume thought. However, he couldn't help but feel the least bit hopeful at Hotaru's words and he also could not stop the swell in his chest after hearing what his friends did for him (no matter how he will not admit it to anyone). He continued to look at her, urging her with his eyes to go on.

"This puts you in a very delicate situation, Hyuuga."

"Don't you think I've realized it already?" Natsume answered feeling impatient.

"And because of this, you will having your personal secretary." Wait, what-

"Hey! Right on time!" Ruka, who was at the entrance of the café, greeted someone at the door. Natsume brings his attention back to Hotaru. A personal secretary. How does that relate to his condition? He doesn't need any mind boggling mind games anymore at the moment. He has a lot on his plate already.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, you wouldn't take treatments. No triggers. Meaning, not even stress. We couldn't take the risk." Hotaru spelled it out for him as if he was a damn infant. "Thus, personal secretary." Natsume was about to blow up from the "god-forsaken" idea of theirs. There was no way in hell he'd agree to their stupid proposition. He doesn't even know how it all relates back to cancer. His mind becomes a puddle, riddled with confusing questions. He was about to make an ultimatum and walk out of the café, but before he was able to gather his thoughts, Ruka heads back to the table and calls his name.

"Hey, Natsume!" Ruka walking towards their table called, seemingly over from his bout of anxiety and nerves from a while ago. Behind him was a girl with flowing auburn hair, a foot shorter than Ruka. She was petite to the very core, making her look fragile. "Meet Mikan Sakura, your personal secretary!"

Natsume looked at her. The name did not ring a bell.

She looked at him.

But it only took a moment to register.

"YOU!"

A/N: This is a bit unedited. So if you find something wrong with the grammar and stuff, please do tell! :) There you go for the first chapter! Review and tell me what you think! I promise a Natsume Mikan interaction next chapter! ;)

PS. You guys can check my tumblr account! It's www. enilezah . tumblr . com (just remove the spaces!). You can submit prompts and stuff! :)