Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.
Note: Of course, there are no changes in my grammar work.
Mikan jogged her way backstage and headed into a room and slammed the door shut. Taking a deep breath, she whipped off her mask and went to grab her white dress from the rack where she last left it.
Mikan shed out of her red dress and put on her white dress. She then went over to the table in front of a mirror and grabbed a different mask. The white dress was a long, strapless sweetheart dress with a lace, embroidered bodice and a front slit that went up to Mikan's mid-thigh. Mikan really liked her mask. It was white lace and edged in bold white pearl teardrops which were trimmed in a narrow white braid.
[White dress: http: / / www. simplydresses. com/ popups/ biggerimage. cfm? cataId=PD&productid=742964&imgindex=1]
[Mask: http: / / www. successcreations. com / PhotoDetails. asp?ShowDESC=N&ProductCode=A-0263WL]
Whilst looking at her reflection in the mirror, she heard a knock on the door. Mikan quickly and carefully so it wouldn't ruin her hair, put on her mask and headed over to open the door after taking one last glance at herself in the mirror.
"Ah, Kaito, come in" she said when she saw that it was Kaito standing behind the door. Kaito walked in, his eyes never leaving Mikan.
"Wow, I'm glad you changed your dress. You look…amazing" he said. Mikan grinned and thanked him.
"Just hold on a minute while I find the shoes that go with this dress…" said Mikan, looking around her as she hoped on and foot to take off her shoes that she was currently wearing. Mikan successfully took of her lovely Strappy Pewter Shoes and neatly placed them next to each other beside the rack where she placed her red dress and then walked bare foot around the room to find the other shoes.
"Are these the shoes you were looking for?" Kaito asked her, holding up a pair of 4 inch, matte satin and lace, white closed toe shoes by Jen & Kim. Mikan spun around instantly, a bright smile appearing on her face. [http: / / www. simplydresses. com/ popups/ biggerimage. cfm? cataId=PS&productid=808001&imgindex=1]
"Yes, they are!" she told him. Mikan made her way over to Kaito to take the shoes from him when Kaito suddenly dropped down on one knee and placed her feet into the shoe one by one. Mikan thanked him with a smile when Kaito stood up again.
"Well then, let's go" said Kaito, opening the door. Mikan nodded and headed out the door after looking back at the room one last time and making sure she had her mask on.
When they came out from backstage, Kaito grabbed her and they spun onto the dance floor as if they were there all along.
Soon enough, the song finished so Mikan and Kaito made their way towards the table. When they arrived, everyone was staring at Mikan.
"Michelle! You look absolutely…WOW!" exclaimed Sumire, jumping in front of her. Mikan laughed.
"Why, thank you, Sumire" said Mikan. Mikan turned around to see Natsume changed into a white suit. The white suit she and Natsume had gone to buy at Central town.
"You look good, Natsume" Mikan complimented him. Natsume answered with his usual 'Hn' and turned to grab him cup of water. Mikan stared at Natsume for a moment before turning back to everyone else on the table.
Anna suddenly appeared on stage and said it was the end of the Ball for the elementary students. Aoi and Kohana groaned in protest, along with other elementary students.
"I'm sorry, but it'll start to get crazy later on in the night. I can guarantee it" said Anna, grinning. "But, can everyone else clear the dance floor so the elementary students could have their final boogie on tonight" requested Anna. The students cheered and ran onto the dance floor. Youichi looked back at Mikan with pleading eyes to save him whilst Aoi and Kohana dragged him onto the dance floor. Mikan merely smirked and looked away, pretending not to see anything. Youichi's mouth dropped in shock before shutting it and glaring at Mikan.
While the elementary students danced around with their friends, everyone else in the auditorium were either grabbing a snack or watching the kids dance around. Though for Mikan, she felt someone stare at her. And she knew it wasn't Natsume. Mikan looked around with her eyes only, not moving. She then spotted a familiar figure standing by the tables full of food, facing her, staring at her behind his mask.
'I'm not having a good feeling about this' assumed Mikan. Mikan tightened her grip on her glass of juice. Kaito noticed how Mikan's knuckles were turning white, so he held out his hand and took her hand in his and gently squeezed it. Mikan stared at their entwined hands and smiled then smiled at Kaito. Kaito smiled back and leaned into Mikan, so he could whisper into Mikan's ear.
"What's wrong?" he whispered, wrapping his arms around Mikan's waist from behind. Mikan leaned her back against Kaito's chest and turned her head to talk into his ear.
"There's a son of a bitch here that I'd like to have turned inside out" Mikan muttered as she held onto Kaito's arms. Kaito chuckled and got a hold of one of Mikan's hands and held it in his.
"Well, try not to, because I think you won't have much of a nice 'Welcome Back' party" joked Kaito.
From across the table, Natsume grabbed the edge of the table tightly, secretly glaring at the two people across from him acting lovey-dovey. Natsume snapped out of it when he felt something hit him on the head. Natsume turned around to glare at the person and saw Hotaru.
"Calm down, Hyuuga. Or you'll end up melting the place" ordered Hotaru before walking over to Mikan. Hotaru pulled Mikan from out of Kaito's arms and spoke.
"And you- stop the love act. It's annoying" said Hotaru. Mikan blushed when she replayed the image of Kaito and herself a moment ago.
"Oh, sorry" she apologised. Hotaru rolled her eyes and nodded. She then glanced behind her and turned back to Mikan.
"Watanabe?" she asked Mikan. Mikan nodded. Hotaru heaved a sigh. Then, they heard the music finish and lots of people heading towards them. Turning around, they saw the elementary students make their way out the door. Mikan's eyes widened and she quickly pulled Hotaru aside to prevent them from being trampled over.
"Well, that's all we needed, aye? To be almost stomped on by cute, little kids" grumbled Mikan, staring at the children walking past. Hotaru rolled her eyes at Mikan, who high-fived some of the kids that waved at her.
"They are absolutely adorable!" Mikan exclaimed, bringing two fists underneath her chin and started squealing.
"Yeah, whatever, but calm down, because hell's about to come your way" said Hotaru before disappearing. Mikan looked around to see Watanabe Akatsuki confidently making his way towards her. Mikan couldn't help but roll her eyes behind her mask.
"Hello, Miss…?" asked Akatsuki, trying to catch her name. Mikan turned on her acting skills and tried her best to give a smile sincere as possible.
"Oh, I cannot give you my name. It would ruin the whole point of tonight" said Mikan. Akatsuki smirked. Mikan wanted to grab a knife and cut it run off.
"Well then, at least give me the honour of having one dance with you" said Akatsuki, holding out a hand for Mikan. Mikan offered her hand and they both went onto the dance floor.
Natsume and Kaito watched as Mikan made her way with Akatsuki onto the dance floor. Kaito knew that it was Akatsuki, whilst Natsume, he wasn't so lucky to know, so, while he watched, his grip on the edge of the table tightened. Kaito turned to see Natsume's knuckles all white.
"Oi, if you continue that, you'll end up breaking the table" joked Kaito. Natsume snapped out of it and turned to face Kaito before letting out his usual 'Hn' before grabbing his drink and draining it down.
"You know who that is?" Kaito asked him, pointing towards Mikan and Akatsuki. Natsume shook his head. Kaito smirked. "The guy's Watanabe, if you wanted to know" said Kaito before turning around to watch Mikan again. Natsume raised an eyebrow at Kaito before turning away to watch Mikan and Akatsuki dance, only to see the girl make her way back to the table, her hand on her hip, whilst the other on clenched up in a fist. Kaito and Natsume turned to look at Akatsuki, who was crouching over. Natsume and Kaito grimace, realising what had happened. Only, they didn't know why.
When Mikan came back, Kaito got a hold of her and asked her what happened.
"What a stupid son-of-a-bitch" Mikan muttered, looking behind her to glare at Akatsuki one last time.
"Well…you see…" Mikan started off.
-Flashback-
Mikan and Akatsuki made their way onto the dance floor. With the music already playing, they started to dance immediately.
"I must say, you look absolutely stunning" commented Akatsuki, as he grabbed both of her hands and pulled away to get a full view of her before spinning her around.
"I know" Mikan replied arrogantly, already knowing what Akatsuki had in mind. Akatsuki chuckled.
"I like a woman that knows what she is" he said.
"I can tell" Mikan replied. Akatsuki smirked.
"Good to know" he said. He then spun Mikan around and then pulled her up against his chest, his arms wrapped around her waist. "You have such interesting eyes, too. A lovely grey, I must say"
Mikan turned her head away to roll her eyes. She the laughed as if she shyly, to cover up why she looked away. "You flatter too much, you know that?" said Mikan, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Yes, I've been told a couple of times" admitted Akatsuki, spinning them both around. "You dance divinely" he said after a while. He then pressed himself closer to Mikan and leaned himself forward to whisper in her ear.
"How about we do another dance later in my room?" he whispered. He then pulled away and moved his hands down towards Mikan's legs. He then hand one hand on Mikan's thigh, and the other on her ass. And Mikan didn't like that, but she played along anyway.
Mikan leaned forward, next to Akatsuki's ear. "Dream on, boy" she whispered. Mikan unwrapped her arms from around Akatsuki's neck, but he got a hold of her waist and tightened his grip. Mikan glared at him behind her mask.
"Let go of me" she told him in a calm voice. Akatsuki smirked, and instead of doing as told, his grip around her. Mikan rolled her eyes. "You asked for it, mate" said Mikan. Then, in a flash, she kneed him in the crotch. Akatsuki grunted from the pain and immediately let go of Mikan, who smirked and patted him on the back before walking away.
-End of flashback-
Kaito grimaced and looked over Mikan's shoulder to glare at Akatsuki. Natsume, who happened to eavesdrop on what Mikan was saying, also turned to glare at Akatsuki, only, Natsume also waited until Akatsuki grabbed something to eat before burning the top of the food. From afar, he could see Akatsuki choking on the food and trying to find a bin to spit it out.
Moments later, Anna appeared on stage and asked everyone to quiet down
"Well, how is everyone enjoying their night so far?" she asked everyone. The students cheered loudly. Anna used her hand to cover her mouth as she laughed, along with the rest of the students.
"Well, that's good to hear. So, how about we have two people come up onto the stage and show of a bit of dancing?" asked Anna. Anna sweat dropped when the auditorium came quiet and no one came forward. She was about to let it pass, when she suddenly spotted Hotaru in the music room at other end of the auditorium, pointing towards a piece of paper. Anna realised what Hotaru was telling her and cleared her throat. Hotaru was probably going to shoot her later with her Baka gun for not remembering the script that she gave earlier.
"Well, how about we have a random spotlight?" asked Anna, tilting her head up slightly too look at the people who were controlling the spotlight. The two people nodded and grinned. Anna smiled and nodded.
The lights started to go around the room, every now and then slowing down at a table, just to scare the people before moving the light away.
In the end, the spotlight, as expected, stopped at the table full of her friends. Anna caught Mikan's stare and grinned sheepishly. She then cleared her throat to gain attention from everyone.
"Well, I guess the lucky table has been chosen. Now, how about two volunteers?" asked Anna. She then added, "Before we force everyone at the table to dance?"
Sumire and Nonoko let out an 'Eep', remembering the script given to them, and immediately grabbed Natsume and Mikan by the arm and pushed them forward. Mikan and Natsume stumbled forward, and both looked back to glare at the two girls, who had their hands behind their back, looking innocent.
Mikan rolled her eyes at them and turned to look at Natsume, who was still glaring at them. Mikan waited for him to stop glaring at them and pay attention to her. When he did, she spoke.
"You alright with this?" she asked him. Natsume shrugged and took a step back and bowed, offering her his hand. Mikan smiled and accepted it, and Natsume lead them to the stage, helping her onto the stage, up the stairs, before going up the stairs himself.
"So, what dance will you be dancing?" Anna asked them. Mikan and Natsume looked at each other for a brief second before turning back to look at Anna and answering in union.
"Waltz" they replied. Anna smiled and nodded.
"Well then, we're looking forward to it" said Anna, heading off stage after cueing the music.
[Waltz: http: / / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=o1tg73_g8mg]
Kaito picked up his drink as the music started. He watched Natsume and Mikan dance on stage. How perfectly in sync they were, despite the fact that they were doing it without any rehearsal, or at least, that's what everyone thought. Kaito smirked behind his drink when he remembered Mikan showing him a dance that she danced with 'someone' a while ago. For some reason, he knew it was now.
Hotaru suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Kaito didn't even bother to look at her. Instead he asked her, "How do you do it?"
Hotaru raised an eyebrow at Kaito behind her mask. "What?"
Kaito set down his drink before turning around to face Hotaru, who was currently watching Mikan and Natsume dancing on stage.
"You know, having the will to do whatever it takes to make a friend happy" said Kaito. Hotaru stayed silent.
"Well, Yamamoto, when you care about someone, you don't really care about the cost. You just go ahead and do whatever it takes" answered Hotaru before walking away, disappearing in the crowd. Kaito chuckled and shook his head and turned around to watch Mikan and Natsume on stage.
Natsume lead Mikan around the stage, spinning her around. The fact that she knew the dance that they were doing at the moment was almost enough evidence for him to be sure enough that the person in front of him was Mikan was enough to make his heart explode.
Mikan smiled as she spun around. She was at the brink of stopping everything and laughing uncontrollably. Natsume was trying so hard to take another glimpse of her eyes.
"So, how has your night been so far?" Mikan asked him.
"It's alright. But there's something missing" replied Natsume.
"More like someone's missing to me" said Mikan, grinning. Natsume raised both his eyebrows behind his mask. Even though Mikan was sure that Natsume had raised his eyebrows, she pretended not to know anything.
"Don't worry, your missing someone is closer than you think" said Mikan. Natsume stared at the person in front of him.
"I sure hope so" he muttered. Then, just at that moment, Natsume saw it- her eyes. Those lovely, mesmerising eyes he's missed for so long- Those lovely brown eyes he's been wishing to see the moment he was separated from her.
When the dance ended, Natsume pulled the girl towards him, one arm around her waist, the other cupping her cheek, staring into her eyes.
"Meet me as soon as you get everyone off your back" Natsume told her before disappearing off stage, leaving Mikan along on stage. Mikan bowed at the audience and quickly went off stage and headed towards her table. As soon as she reached her table, she grabbed Kaito's drink from out of his hand and gulped it down,
"Hey! I was drinking that!" exclaimed Kaito. Mikan wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Sorry, Kaito, but I have to go" she told him before running out of the auditorium, lifting up her dress so it wouldn't touch the ground. Kaito smiled at Mikan's retreating figure.
"Good luck, kid" he whispered.
Mikan ran down the hallways, not stopping until she reached her destination. Even though Natsume hadn't told her where to go, she already knew where to go. Mikan stopped a couple of metres away from the Sakura tree. When Mikan arrived, she found Natsume standing underneath the Sakura tree, his back facing her, his mask in hand.
Mikan took a couple of steps forward, but immediately stopped when Natsume turned around, his lovely crimson orbs looking through her soul.
"Take off your mask" he told her, eyes showing determination. Mikan remained silent, unmoving. "Remove the mask. Now" he told her. Mikan closed her eyes and raised her right hand up to her mask. Mikan look off her mask and opened her eyes. And in a flash, she was wrapped in Natsume's arms. Mikan smiled and hugged him back.
Natsume pulled back and placed a hand on her cheek and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. Mikan smiled.
"You're not acting like yourself" she joked. Natsume smirked,
"It's a night to let go and act who you wish you could be" he answered. Mikan laughed.
"I guess it is" she said. Mikan then rolled her eyes and took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Alright, out with it. Say what you want to say" she told him. Given the chance, Natsume started immediately.
"You crazy woman!" exclaimed Natsume. "How could you do such a foolish act without telling me first?" Natsume paced back and forth.
"Plus, how come you were able to change your eye colour all of a sudden? I don't get it" he added. He then paced around some more before stopping suddenly and pointing at Mikan and continuing, "AND, you owe me for not ripping off your mask sooner."
Mikan rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Do you have any idea how creepy were when they realised that the Mikan- the Mikan that happened to be quite…also creepy,-
"Hey!"
"-happened to miss out on class? Not to mention about the whole week of school? They were able to be more annoying than I thought ever possible. And did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?"
Mikan bit her bottom lip, to prevent her from laughing at Natsume's outbursts. Mikan took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Natsume.
"Alright, I think that's enough for tonight. You can continue tomorrow" she said. Natsume opened his mouth to say something, but Mikan cut him off.
"I was wearing contacts. I expected you to figure that one out yourself" said Mikan. Natsume stared at her. "Hotaru left them in the dressing rooms, and when I went backstage to put this dress" Mikan gestured towards the dress she was wearing "away to wear later, I quickly put them on" she explained.
"I didn't see you take them off" stated Natsume. Mikan grinned.
"Of course you didn't. You were too busy watching the spotlight going around the room. I took them out while everyone was completely anxious, hoping that the spotlight wouldn't land on them" answered Mikan. Natsume opened his mouth to say something again, but Mikan cut him off.
"And, as for my irrational act- I am sorry. It won't happen again" she promised. Natsume nodded and hugged Mikan.
"Unless it's absolutely necessary" muttered Mikan. Natsume's eyes widen and he pulled out from the hug. Mikan rolled her eyes and cut Natsume off before he could say anything.
"And as for your last question…no, you haven't" she said, grinning. "Does that mean that you will?" asked Mikan.
Natsume smirked. "Nope" he answered. Mikan pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh well, then I guess I'll go back into the auditorium and get other guys to compliment me then" she said, slowly turning around to walk away. Mikan secretly smiled when Natsume pulled her back into a tight hug, making sure she couldn't escape. Natsume buried his face into Mikan's hair and whispered to her.
"You're not only beautiful tonight, but also amazing, and stunning. But most important of all…" Natsume pulled back and looked into Mikan's eyes. "Most important of all, you're you. You're here- with me. And I'm probably happier than I've ever been in a while"
Mikan buried her face into Natsume's chest and hugged him. "Same here" she told him.
"Also, all the stuff in the letter…" Natsume started off.
"Yes, they're all true. Everything in it" answered Mikan, already knowing what Natsume was going to ask. Natsume nodded and tilted his head up and looked at the moon, his arms still wrapped around Mikan. Mikan looked up and the moon as well.
"It's beautiful" she whispered. Natsume nodded and looked down to look at Mikan.
"But I'll have you any day over that moon" jerking his head towards the moon. Mikan laughed.
"Thank you" she murmured before pulling on Natsume's tie so she could kiss him. Natsume instantly kissed her back.
After a few minutes, they pulled away, and walked over to the Sakura tree and sat down on the ground. Well, Natsume sat down on the ground. Mikan sat on his lap.
"I can sit on the ground, you know" said Mikan.
"I know. But then you'd get crap on your dress" replied Natsume. Mikan laughed.
"You can you. Your suit's white, too, you know" Mikan pointed out.
"I know. I don't care" answered Natsume. Mikan hummed in reply and leaned her back against Natsume's chest.
After an hour or so, Mikan suggested that they head in. Natsume agreed and lifted Mikan off his lap, steadying her on her feet before standing up himself. He then grabbed their masks and put on Mikan's mask for her before putting on his own before they walked back to the auditorium, hand in hand.
Anna and Nonoko head towards Kaito, who was currently eating.
"Kaito, where's Mikan? She's been gone for about an hour" said Nonoko. Sumire appeared beside her when she heard Mikan's name. Next to Kaito, Ruka took a sip from his drink and nodded.
"Natsume as well" he added.
Just then, they all spotted Mikan and Natsume making their way towards the table, hand in hand. All of their smiles widened as the pair came closer.
"A happy ending, I reckon" said Kaito when Mikan and Natsume arrived. Natsume chuckled and took their place at the table. Natsume put an arm around Mikan's waist and pulled Mikan closer to him.
"No, it's not…" he said. He then squeezed gently squeezed Mikan's waist. Mikan smiled brightly and gave Natsume a peck on the lips.
"Indeed, it isn't. It's just the beginning"
End of chapter, and end of story.
Completed on the 11th of January, 2012
A/N: Well, how was it? I hope you enjoyed the story. I'm sorry if the ending was completely…blah. I'm not good at ending stuff. So, yeah. I apologise for that.
Well, please leave a review and tell me your thoughts (:
Oh, by the way. I'm starting another story. It shall be called… Well, I don't know just yet. I'm working on it. But, I'll give you a rough, unofficial (but most likely the official one) summary:
Mikan Sakura, someone who works by breaking the rules to do the right thing, is given a mission to protect Natsume Hyuuga, one entitled to take over his parent's very successful and well-known company. And this mission requires one rule: "Don't fall in love or else everyone around you will die in bloodshed"
Well, bye bye for now (: