My Little Secret: Chapter 5

#01: Gakuen Alice (Natsume & Mikan)
...xXx...

The sound of the bell indicated that half of homeroom had ended. Every student closed their books and gathered their things quickly.
"Don't forget about the project!" Narumi-sensei reminded before walking out of the classroom.
A little boy came running into the classroom after the teacher left. The silver-haired student approached the violet-eyed girl when he couldn't find his sister. "Hotaru-nee-chan, where is Onee-chan?"
A group of friends — Anna, Nonoko, Yuu, Koko, Ruka and Natsume — turned to look at the silver-haired boy.
Everyone, but Natsume, frightfully thought, Better not do anything bad to Youichi, or we will meet our graves early.
Hotaru replied him with gentle eyes. "She went to the Northern Forest with Persona-sensei."
They turned to look at Hotaru in surprise. Northern Forest? How does she know?

...xXx...

Mikan had decided to ask Hotaru about having lunch together before going to get Youichi. Since she didn't use her Teleportation Alice, she had drawn a lot of attention from every student. Everyone who saw her would stop and stare at her before whispering to each other. Of course, Mikan ignored them all. She mentally scoffed, What's the problem with these people? Is it wrong for me to wear a mask in broad daylight?
When she almost reached her classroom, she heard Youichi's sad voice. "Oh. I wish I could meet Nii-chan, too…"
Quickly, she went to the classroom and answered her little brother, "You can meet him once the school-session is over, You-chan."
"Onee-chan!" You-chan squealed happily. He ran towards her and hugged her tightly.
"Did you behave well in class, You-chan?"
"Of course!" You-chan chirped and then adorably pouted. "Onee-chan, I'm hungry."
A small smile graced her lips. "Let's go then."
She looked up at Hotaru. "Hotaru, do you want to come with us?"
"Of course," replied the emotionless-looking girl.
With that, they left for the cafeteria.
"Did you see her smile?" Anna asked without looking to the group.
Nonoko smiled. "I knew it. She's not a bad person at all."
Yup, not a bad person but scary… The group agreed inwardly.
She's a totally different person when she's with Youichi, Natsume pondered thoughtfully before heading towards the cafeteria as well. I wonder what she looks like without the mask…
Hotaru is so pretty whenever she smiles, Ruka thought dreamily as he remembered her smiling face while she talked to Youichi and their new classmate. He blinked. Hotaru? Thank goodness I didn't say her name out loud. If I did, she would come and blackmail me or something, he thought frantically and followed Natsume.

...xXx...

The loud cafeteria turned quiet when Mikan made her presence known. Everyone in the cafeteria was staring at her, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.
When they reached the counter, a waiter greeted, "Mikan-sama, what would you like to have for lunch?"
"Special Star Lunch Set please."
"Right away… how about Youichi-sama?" the waiter asked Youichi.
Youichi begged Mikan with puppy eyes. "Pick for me, Onee-chan. Please…"
Mikan gave him a small smile. You-chan is really cute.
After ordering for Youichi, together with Hotaru, they went to an empty table but the staring eyes didn't stop at all.
"What are you looking at?" Hotaru snapped finally.
Everyone darted back to their lunch sets and began to eat nervously.
Hotaru's vicious. The students are actually obeying her! Mikan thought while swallowing her fried chicken.
"Narumi-sensei made Hyuuga your partner," Hotaru informed Mikan nonchalantly as she ate her crab sticks.
Mikan hummed and mentally shook her head in disbelief. It seems like I always got something to do with that Hyuuga.
Hotaru narrowed her eyes at Mikan curiously. She was not expecting her best friend to accept the news so easily. She's hiding something.
"Hotaru, I'm going on a mission with Nii-san tomorrow night," Mikan told her best friend quietly.
Hotaru paused for a while before continuing to eat, but Youichi stopped eating entirely. Of course, Mikan noticed this and assured the boy. "Don't worry, You-chan… we'll be okay."
Despite the assurance, the boy was still looking at his older sister worriedly.
"What time will you be going?" Hotaru asked impassively.
"10," Mikan replied and assured her little brother again, "You-chan, don't worry and eat your lunch."
Since he didn't want to upset his sister, he continued eating his lunch silently.
"We'll wait for you in your room." Hotaru stated.
Mikan flashed her a small smile. "Arigatou, Hotaru."
Unknown to them, a certain fire caster heard their quiet conversation. Well, heard was not quite the right word since he actually eavesdropped. But, no one would believe that the Natsume Hyuuga was actually eavesdropping.
So, she will be doing a mission tomorrow night at 10. I hope she will be all right, Natsume thought mentally before asking himself, Wait! Why am I worried about her?
Not wanting to start questioning his own feelings, he shut every thought of Mikan. He told himself that he didn't care about her.
After lunch, Mikan walked her little brother back to his classroom. Before letting him go, she gave him a peck on his soft cheek. "When school is over, I'll come pick you up, okay?"
"Hai, Onee-chan. See you!" You-chan chirped happily and disappeared into the classroom.
"Hotaru, Okaa-san told me that she'll come back soon, but… I can't help but worry about her," Mikan confessed while making her way to her own classroom along with Hotaru.
"Baka, it's just your feelings. Nothing bad is going to happen," Hotaru reassured, and Mikan thought, I hope so. I really hope so, Hotaru…
As soon as the two girls entered the classroom, the class acknowledged the new student. Mikan Sakura.
"Hotaru, where do I sit?" Mikan asked Hotaru, who was walking beside her.
Hotaru pointed to the two empty seats behind her own seat. Mikan nodded in thanks and walked to the vacant seats.
Not long after that, Natsume and Ruka made their appearance. However, everything was quiet. No screaming or whatsoever.
Good, no more deranged fan girls, Natsume thought and glanced at Mikan. It must be because of her.
When their eyes met, Mikan looked away immediately. If he could be honest with himself, he didn't like it. Despite their unpleasant initial meeting, he wanted her attention. Emotionlessly, he strode towards his seat. Once again, he told himself that he didn't care about her at all.
Unlike this morning, when everyone was busy with themselves, the students kept their voice down, afraid to disturb a certain brunette.

Prev Chapter 1—The Arrival Chapter 2—The New Student Chapter 3—The Older Brother Chapter 4—The Younger Brother Chapter 5—The Partner Chapter 6—The Fans Chapter 7—The Name Chapter 8—The New Guy Chapter 9—The Truth Chapter 10—The Mission Chapter 11—The Kiss Chapter 12—The Sacrifice Chapter 13—The Time Chapter 14—The Promise Chapter 15—The End of Time Chapter 16—The Reason Chapter 17—The Dream Chapter 18—The Dance Chapter 19—The Departure Chapter 20—The Little Secret Next