26A/N:Random update for it's less than a week before school resumes. When will I ever update properly. It's hmmm, 3 am and I just suddenly thought of posting this chap. It has been stuck for how many months now? 2? 3? school just killed me, ahahaha! But I guess I'm back!
Disclaimer:
SHEmale
Three: The Stalker and the Bully
"Hana-senpai!" Aoi called the moment Natsume stepped out from class to take a break. All heads turned when they saw how sweet and close the top star freshman act with the new and popular student Natsume Hana.
After that scene when he first entered Gakuen Alice, Natsume had become a close friend of Aoi. But still, he tried to keep his distance so as not to blow his cover.
.
He still didn't know what to do with Sakura, whether to just beat her or do something to scare her but he figured that such lowly actions are not like him and he expected her not to be simply scared. She bullied a Hyuuga; he bet it took a huge amount of confidence and strength. And that's when he decided: He'll take Jinno's cutting privilege and observe a little bit more.
Finding solid proof and courageous enough witnesses was his top priority and the only way to do so was to follow her close enough 24/7 if possible. It was decided, the only way to stop her entirely was to expose her infront of the whole school and infront of the school's committee.
The idea at least eased his heart for a moment but when he started really planning for it in his head, the idea of shaming a girl infront of many people bugged him until bedtime. He couldn't even look at Sakura Mikan the rest of the night. All he did was face the white wall, staring at a lonely ant as it wandered with a small crystal of sugar. He was again, confused. Hours passed and he didn't even do homework or eat dinner.
"I'm seriously being killed everytime I deal with this woman. She really is dangerous." he whispered trying to get some sleep even though morning was just a few hours away, the skies lightening up.
And so, Natsume Hyuuga ended up with no sleep. The only way to keep himself up was to jog once again, numerous times as Hotaru watched in amusement. She wasn't that cruel to actually record his current pretentious life and watch it become a blockbuster but she did find a little pleasure in actually seeing a very popular man run in circles figuratively and literally.
After his long run he immediately dashed back to the dorms and when he lifelessly turned to the room at the farthest right of the top floor, he just barged inside his dorm room or so what he thought was his until he saw a fair and rosy girl with a long black hair wearing a white sando and undergarments about to put on her cycling shorts. The peculiar sight and the strawberry scent he smelled stunned him for a second and made him immediately rush outside after the sight finally struck him.
Wandering in space, he randomly faced the wall, tapped his cheeks, checked his temperature and mumbled to himself looking totally odd. It was the first time he… he saw a girl on… those. Checking his watch, and coming back to senses he faced back the door and checked the room number. "But this is the one I slept inside last night…"
"No wait, this is it! And if this is the right one then that girl—" he hastily pushed the door open, his wig moving smoothly like natural healthy hair of a woman. "Nope."
He found Mikan coming out from the bathroom with her improper uniform on and a bath towel on her head, her face completely covered with make up once again; looking ugly as usual.
"Natsume Hana, I'm surprised that you're not in class yet. I guess you're not an obedient girl after all."
"I have the right to cut Math." He snapped femininely avoiding to look at her awkward face.
"Ohh," she pulled the towel down to reveal her wet hair already tied and the short bob in front wavy and dripping with water. "Then enjoy your free time new student. And remember not to get too much attention" she responded as she walk to and fro picking up her things and putting them in order.
Natsume just eyed her, scrutinizing. It appeared that she didn't have any hard feelings on him—or on his female side. He supposed she didn't really have the right to hate him. He was the one that must be hating on her. "You are thirty minutes late already roommate. You've missed homeroom by now."
"Oh? Homeroom? Naru need not check my attendance." Mikan confidently replied. "They're used to it."
"Sheesh. Totally unlikeable." He mumbled under his breath.
She threw a swift glance over the girl on sweat clothes before slinging her bag on her shoulders and walking lazily out.
"Tch. Annoying." Natsume said after he heard the soft click of the door. Then he remembered again the pretty girl just minutes ago. Was his eyes fooling him? Did he get the wrong door a while ago? Was it a ghost? He had thought of the wildest hunches and all but never that it was Mikan. "Pretty…"
He entered the bathroom to smell the scent of Strawberry. "That Sakura does have taste even a bit." He sniffed. "Strawberry… but—"
Natsume Hyuuga had always been a sharp fellow especially when facts are slapping him right on the face. "Same height, skin tone, body frame, hair color but Sakura has short hair… strawberry… Could it be her? Tch. Impssible. Impossible." He continuously convinced himself over and over.
For an hour he laid on his bed without the golden contacts, the wig and the skirts; completely male. "Forget it all. I must focus on Aoi's business. Nat, focus, focus. Inhale, exhale. One: Identify the problem. Right and the problem is that Aoi's being bullied. Two: Identify the source of the problem. The source is Sakura Mikan. Right. Right. It is her! Three: Eliminate the source of the problem. Eliminate, Eliminate. Eliminate Sakura Mikan. Eliminate? But how?"
He scratched his head, "Again, again. Focus, focus. Inhale, exhale. My problem: I don't know how to eliminate the source of the first problem. What is the source of this problem? Why can't I devise a way to eliminate that idiot? How, how, how. Arrgh! Sakura is ruining my system! How, how, how? No. focus, focus…
Arrgh! I can't think!" He rolled to his right twice then back three rolls on his left. He tried massaging his temples but the wrinkle on his forehead didn't disappear. "That's right! Of course, I must find information first to defeat the enemy. Right, must collect info."
He had always been like that. He believed in a system to properly solve any problem. Always succeeding to fix his problems that way, he thought Mikan and Aoi's issue could also be solved the same way.
Hastily putting on his female clothes, putting on ample make-up and perfecting his disguise, he headed out and checked what his classmates might be doing at that moment.
He entered the Laboratory where the girls were flocking and diligently working on their own experiments while Hotaru Imai enjoyed one whole table all for herself and Sakura Mikan only took one end her head resting on the table, already done with that day's activity as she quietly sat beside the already clean test tubes and properly placed apparatus.
Standing on one corner in wonder, Hotaru walked passed him and said, "I told you she's a super woman."
He snickered. "As if." And he proceeded working on his own as well.
After that, they headed back to their classroom for their two-hour Economics class of which Mikan spent only fifteen minutes awake, the rest, her head on the desk dozing off. She finished her seatwork immediately after it was given while the other girls sneakily passed answers to one another.
Natsume just looked at her head from the back then back to the problem set and glanced at Hotaru who mouthed again, "I told you" which he just shrugged off. He refused to believe of Sakura being some super woman or anything positive. She just doesn't look like it. Plus, what year is it already? Super Woman? Seriously? That's the funniest joke he has ever heard.
"As I was saying—are you listening Miss Hana Natsume?" the teacher called out. "Sakura, wake up!"
The two of them straightened their backs because of the cold tone of the teacher. Mikan sent a glare over Natsume who glared back then smiled sweetly at the teacher just to appease her anger.
Mikan glanced outside, letting her eyes wander off the corridor because the backdoor was wide open while Natsume took short glances over Mikan from time to time; grumpy mood, haggard look, lazy plus the fact that she doesn't fix her face properly so as with her messy hair. But when he closely looked, she does have the right jawline, noticeable cheekbones, proportional facial features and lips that he thought would look better without the so-last-year red red red lipstick.
"What's her problem?"
"Tch. What's with the absent-mindedness? Perhaps she's still in lalaland." Natsume saw Mikan looking directly at him, throwing this annoyed face he just couldn't get and beside her stood Hotaru who looked creeped over him as well.
"It's lunch time, H.N" Hotaru sent a knowing look.
He immediately snapped out of his deep studying with Mikan's—physical profile?
The two bestfriends left him alone after and headed for the cafeteria. He followed soon after being dragged by the other girls who were very eager to make friends with his female alter-ego.
"Oh, that! That's a limited edition only found in France!"
"So pretty!"
Natsume shot an uninterested look as he sat in between the girls, about ten of them, who were from the same class as they talked the whole time about designer this and designer that completely ignoring their untouched food.
"Hey look, Mori-chan of class 2F and her group's planning to do something to Sakura-san again." Someone whispered.
"What? Isn't she getting tired of it?"
They discreetly turned their eyes over a group of two-star students who were approaching Hotaru and Mikan as the two chatted at the most middle table of the huge cafeteria.
Natsume quietly watched as the leader-of-the-pack Mori-chan-whoever-she-is as she purposely tripped a geek student who was carrying a tray with glasses of orange juice.
Soaked. Mikan didn't even move a muscle or even said a word.
Hotaru on the otherhand looked bored and just stared waiting for what's gonna happen next.
"Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! This geek was in the way, I'm sorry Sakura-san!" she pointed at the scared girl who was looking down the floor in shame. The Mori-chan girl grabbed her hanky and wiped the damp face of Mikan who was still quiet.
The moment the hanky touched her cheek, Mikan grabbed her wrist and pushed it lightly and gently away, sending a sweet sarcastic smile. "It's fine. Thank you for your concern and I give you a B-. Next time, be more original my dear."
The whole cafeteria roared in laughter after her failure but now, Natsume's eyes were only in Mikan. Her cheek, after the hanky brushed on it removed some of the make-up. Mikan even wiped her face with her hand and moved slowly like nothing happened. She then lowered to pull up the geek student who didn't know if to be thankful, sorry or scared at her.
"Are you now wondering?" someone from behind told him. As he expected, it was Hotaru who had a very pleased look on her face.
"You're saying that while your bestfriend's wet and dirty?"
"She's completely fine. Why don't you go take a peek while she clean up back at the dorm. Hm?" Hotaru teased.
"Huh?" he turned red. "I've got no interest on such ugly girls!"
"Oh? Wasn't she pretty just an hour ago in Economics class? Oh Natsume, Natsume Hyu~"
"No, she wasn't!"
"Is that so? Then do me a favor and help her out back in the dorm. I can let you pass the next class."
"What?"
"How do say it? 'Inhale, Exhale. Focus, focus… How to eliminate Mikan Sakura…' was it something like that? I had just signed up a new YT account. Should I upload your video first?" The devilish aura came and heightened Hotaru's prodding.
Natsume sighed and left his lunch half finished. He didn't even know how such childish blackmailing was able to make him do things he swore he'd never do. Even peeking.
Click.
Natsume sneaked inside their dorm, quite careful in not making one single noise as he heard the shower violently resounded inside the huge room. He had been focusing himself and was making himself believe that he's not there to peek or anything dirty. He was there to be enlightened—to know the truth. Or both.
Hearing the running water stop and the knob turn, he immediately jumped out of surprise and hid at the back of the living room's thick curtain. Thankfully it was really bulky, black and thick that it helped much for his camouflage.
And then he saw…
That same girl he saw that morning. He couldn't deny then—it was indeed Sakura Mikan.
Clad in her bath robe, long black hair, down to her mid-back, wet and loose and her face completely fresh, Mikan slumped herself on her bed and sighed. "Still the same as ever."
Not knowing what to do, he stood for almost an hour, frozen and dumbfounded secretly watching as a pretty girl that he thought was very very very ugly before dress up (not that he peeked too much) and put on her horrible make-up once again, like a Cinderella that returned back to rags at midnight.
When Mikan, who was totally unaware, left the room, Natsume looked pale and mute. What reaction should he be doing anyway? One, that girl hurt his sister, two, she's a scary and snappy person, three, she wore horrible make-up and four, she was a pretty girl in mystery. What was he supposed to say?
Putting all those aside, he only wanted two things: One, to know why she's hiding that way and two, he wished the clock didn't strike twelve so that Cinderella would have to stay that way.
A/N: How was it? Review, eh? The last part wasn't even in my plan for this chapter yet I've already typed it so, so so. Why do I find it so crappy. My writing skill that wasn't even that good to begin with is slowly dropping dooooo~wn. Ahh, I need to read and write more... been stuck with numbers for 5 months (happiness 3)