Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice is forever Tachibana Sensei’s artwork. I am merely writing my imagination mostly based on the characters that she has created.

-- One Week’s Worth of Detentions --

-- Day 2 --

Two figures were standing under the dim light from the lamps of the Middle School Branch’s garden. It was very much looked like the two of them did not bother to hide or talk in a less audible volume. A very daring feat indeed and most of the students in the school would have seen their actions in awe since the curfew for Middle School students already began around two hours earlier.

“How much?” asked the taller figure with a cold tone. His ruby earring that was dangling from his left ear now shimmered from the dim light shone above him.

“It depends.” It was a girl’s voice with similar coldness in her way of speaking; just the same as the taller figure standing in front of her.

“Get real! I don’t have forever to wait for such nonsense of an answer," barked the boy impatiently.

“I would be more careful if I were you. You see…. I might change my mind helping you after all," she replied calmly.

The eyes of the black cat were glinting dangerously. However, the girl did not cower even for the slightest bit. On the contrary, she seemed enjoying the whole situation albeit no visible emotions were shown on her gorgeous face. The girl decided inwardly that since it was not an everyday event to have a chance to threaten the black cat, it’s best to have fun to the fullest.

“So, what do you want?”

“Oh, we did not discuss the monetary problem anymore, didn’t we?”

“You said yourself that it depends. I could roughly guess that money would not be the only issue we need to settle.” Natsume answered coldly. His eyes were gleaming maliciously.

“Hm… I guess you are not a genius for nothing after all, Natsume,” answered the girl tonelessly.

Natsume could not help but twitching a bit, somehow hearing this girl calling his first name always made him shudder a little. It’s not that he scared of her or something; she’s not his match in terms of their alice abilities anyway. Yet sadly, she got him in a way that nobody in the academy could. Since the day she knew his trump card, apparently she has made it perfectly clear that she would gain as much benefits as possible from it. And it could only mean one thing for him; a living hell.

He swore inwardly and almost blamed himself for falling in love with the most idiotic girl he ever knew; Mikan Sakura. To add his frustration even more, that idiotic girl was happened to have no less than a git as her best friend. And the girl who was standing in front of him daringly now was no other than that infamous best friend herself; Hotaru Imai.

From the knowledge he got during the years he spent with both girls, he knew it only too well that Hotaru Imai has the nature of a blackmailer. Behind her indifference expressions laid something so devilish that the one thing he ever wanted to do was to strangle her to his own satisfaction. He could restrain himself from doing so merely because he still remembered the fact that her best friend was the one whom he had a secret crush with. And to add his current pain even more (of not being able to smother her), this girl was also happened to be the object of affection from no other than his own best friend; Ruka Nogi.

He could only shake his head in utter disbelief upon hearing for the first time that Ruka was falling for the Blackmailer Queen. That time he merely thought that his best friend was only suffering from some temporary mental illnesses. However, months changed to years and now it was almost two years ever since that day and he was definitely still not getting over it. Nevertheless, he never managed to say his true feelings to Hotaru up until now.

Natsume could not help but thinking that it would not be an easy road for Ruka to win over her heart seeing her eccentricity in the first place. Yet, who was he anyway to comment Ruka’s love life when his own was just the same piling of mess if not even worse?

He could only blame the fate that they had to fall in love with the two most troublesome girls in the academy. And it was just not their luck as well when both girls they like happened to be the weirdest pair of best friends in the whole school. Still, he admitted that he felt relieved when in the very same day Ruka confessed his feeling about the Blackmailer Queen; he exclaimed that he no longer had a crush on Mikan. That was great news for Natsume to hear that since he would not know what to do if both of them had to fight over the same girl.

--

He knew that in his current situation, he would need all the helps he could muster. Yet he had to be more careful not to repeat the same mistake as what he did the morning before. Every time he remembered the whole event that morning he felt a pang of guilt in his chest. However, he knew that the game must go on as what he promised to Mikan before.

“Just tell me what do you want and you could be sure that I would do whatever you want me to do.”

“A very brave statement. I could not expect any less from you,” Hotaru replied.

She added, “So what was your reason to do this, Natsume?”

“That’s none of your concern.” His answer sounded cold and distant although unfathomable expression still lingered on his face.

Hotaru raised one of her eyebrows questioningly. “I am afraid I have to disagree with you on this matter. I have every right to know since it was that idiot whom we’re talking about here.”

Natsume shot her with a judging look. He knew very well that he was on a losing end. He sighed and said, “I will explain to you in time.”

Hotaru understood that she would not get any more explanations from the black cat no matter how hard she pushed for it. Nevertheless, she spoke once again with a cold voice, “I will not forgive you if you ever make her cry, Natsume. Believe me, I will make sure myself that you regret it if I you do.”

Then she took out a silver ball, not bigger than a golf ball from her pocket. It hummed inaudibly and let out a small puffs of smoke every once in a while. Natsume took the ball from her hand and glanced at it skeptically.

“Just put this under her pillow. It will know what to do,” she said impassively; completely undisturbed with the incredulous look that Natsume just gave her a moment ago.

“Are you sure about this, Imai? This thing looks very shady to me.”

“Actually… there is a much easier option for you.” Hotaru answered with a hint of enthusiasm on her voice.

“But only if you are willing of course,” she added. A rare smirk etched on the normally cold and expressionless face of Hotaru Imai.

Natsume felt his inside squirm a little watching that naughty expression on her face. He was absolutely sure that somehow he did not want to hear her next suggestion.

Hesitating for a couple a second longer, he finally said, “And what is that?”

“Simply stay at her room and wake her up yourself, of course.” She answered in a matter-of-factly kind of tone that almost made him committing a murder on the spot.

Hotaru could not see the face of the black cat clearly under the dim lights of her surrounding. However, a sudden heat that caught up with her skin when she finished her sentence confirmed her suspicion that the boy standing in front of her was pretty much flare up with her suggestion. Albeit the reason whether it was in a good or a bad way.

With the same wicked smile she said, “I leave the option to you then, Natsume. Let me know later which one works better for you.”

She has already walked a couple steps away from the black cat towards her dormitory when her steps halted almost abruptly, “By the way, I will send the bill tomorrow, Natsume. It’s a pleasure to have a business with you.”

Much to his annoyance she added, “If you ever need my help next time, you know where to find me.”

Natsume swore that he could still hear her chuckling monotonously although the sounds of her steps were fading as she continued walking away from him.

Sighing heavily he knew better that asking help from the Blackmailer Queen herself would always be his very last option. And to start asking her now has shown on how desperate he was this time.

Cursing quietly he walked towards the same direction that was just taken by Hotaru. He was heading towards Middle School Branch-Girl’s dormitory.

--

As what he suspected before, Mikan was sleeping soundlessly in her room. Completely oblivious with a person standing next to her bed watching her; she was still deep in her slumber. He knew that she would be deep in her sleep by the time he reached her room. It was not the first time that he was there anyway.

Many times he almost gave up and wanted his miserable life to end. Yet every time he saw her, he knew that he has already found a reason to carry on living. Somehow, it already became his habit whenever he returned from his life-threatening missions or when things became so unbearable for him to go to her room just to see her sleeping. It seemed comforting for him to see her in that way since it was the only time he could be true to his heart. He knew by the time she woke up he would end up hurting her with his words that once again made them quarreling and returned back to square one.

Still, this time was quite different than his other visits. He saw her usually smooth face now still bore the scars from the previous incident. He felt sorry for not being able to prevent that from happening.

And by the time he slipped the ball under her pillow, his face was already so close to hers. He hopelessly restraining himself from kissing her yet to no avail. When his lips finally touched hers, he knew his life would never be complete without her around.

He whispered something that he wanted to say for the whole day in her ear, “I’m sorry you suffered because of me. I promise I would make it up to you, Polka-Dots.”

Then he kissed her beautiful face once again and left her room quietly.

--

The corridor of the Middle School Branch was oddly empty for the second day around. The reason behind this peculiarity was most probably because the black cat and his best friend were standing menacingly in front of the class next to their own. Therefore, all the middle school students who came quite early that morning knew better than to linger in the corridor. They knew the risk of making the black cat even more pissed off with their mere presence in there; especially when a deep frown and dangerous scowl already obviously etched on his face. Nobody knows what will happen next when he was in a such foul mood.

“I could not believe that she still has not come until now,” scowled Natsume. His flawless face went even darker and more ominous than before.

“We just wait and see, Natsume. It’s still early so no need to do anything rash,” said Ruka Nogi, somehow looking more tired than usual.

“I should not rely on that dubious thing from your crazy girlfriend,” Natsume shook his head in disbelief.

“Don’t call Imai like that and she’s not my girlfriend,” said Ruka. His face turned into beet red upon hearing Natsume’s words.

“Yeah, right,” answered Natsume cynically.

He knew that it was not a right time to throw a tantrum to his best friend. However, he was too frustrated to admit what he truly felt.

He remembered very well that he has slipped the ball just like what Hotaru instructed him. At this point, he could not help but smirking a bit recalling what he did a couple of hours ago.

Unluckily for him, Ruka saw the sudden change in his expression and he worriedly said, “Are you alright, Natsume?”

Almost grumpily as if being wakened up from a sweet dream Natsume harshly answered, “I am alright, however I would not be that sure if I were your girlfriend.”

He smirked once again and added, “Let’s just hope that the ridiculous thing I paid for a ridiculously high price would work or else…..”

Ruka could feel his palms went cold and slightly sweating upon hearing his best friend’s threat. He knew that Hotaru’s invention never failed to amaze a lot of investors before. However, this time seeing that it involved Mikan, anything could be a disaster in only a matter of seconds. Knowing his temperamental best friend very well, he would not eliminate his threats that easily.

That made him woke up from his reverie all of a sudden and took a peek to the classroom behind him. As if on cue, Hotaru Imai glanced at his direction from her seat. Ruka sent signals to her in a hope that she would realize the danger in the current situation. To his relief, the girl walked towards them with her usual emotionless face.

“Are you sure that Mikan would come on time today, Imai-Chan?” Ruka asked her. His normally cool face now turned beet red once again.

“No need to worry, we could check whether my invention’s working or not. I have monitor and controller for it anyway,” she said tonelessly; totally ignoring the facial changes from the black cat who stood still beside her.

Natsume felt his heart just missed a beat upon hearing her words. His jaw was hardened when he spoke, “Should I ask you why you did not give me the monitor and controller in the first place, Imai?”

“Ah, where’s the fun part then? It’s a pity that you did not ask for a complete set to begin with” Hotaru spoke with a smooth voice.

“I have checked it last night and it worked perfectly. I even have proof recorded on tape. Do you want to see it?” she added while glancing at Natsume’s direction with a very thin layer of smile. A malicious glint could be seen sparkling in the corner of her eyes.

Natsume could only curse himself secretly. He should have known it better than to whole-heartedly believe the Blackmailer Queen’s invention in the first place. Still condemning himself, Natsume answered, “No need to do that, Imai. We should settle the details later on when we finish this whole thing.”

Ruka could only glance at both of them. He had no clues whatsoever on what they were talking about. “What is it that you recorded anyway, Imai-Chan? I thought it was supposed to be some sort of alarms to help Mikan-Chan wake up?”

“I always make things multipurpose, Nogi,” once again the mischievous glimmer could be seen in her violet eyes.

With that she took a small square monitor, just the same size and color, as the ball she gave Natsume previously, and something resembled a pencil from her pocket.

When she pressed one of the small buttons below the tiny screen, it popped up into a quite big screen just like a portable DVD size. She pushed another button next to the one that she just pressed a moment before. Now the screen clearly showed the full image of Mikan’s room.

She clicked the tip of the pencil twice and the image on the screen now changed to Mikan who was clearly still sleeping.

“I couldn’t believe it. She dares to sleep until now,” Natsume gritted his teeth in anger.

“Could you do something to it, Imai-Chan?” asked Ruka; his face now was no longer beet red although a tinge of pink was visible on his cheek.

Hotaru responded calmly by glancing at her watch and merely said, “It’s almost the time.”

They returned their gaze to the small screen that was held by Hotaru.

--

As if on cue, the ball that used to emit puffs of smoke once in a while now was bursting out a really thick pink smoke. They could not see the image of Mikan by now since everything was covered with the smoke. Out of the blue, it emitted a very loud shriek like an opera singer singing while she was having a really bad flu.

Natsume’s and Ruka’s eyes widened in shocked and disbelief. They had to cover their ears to prevent the risk of having sudden deaf from the horrifying voice that was coming from the screen in front of them.

However, Ruka was the one who recovered from the shock and he said in a barely audible volume, “Are you sure it should works that way? It looks quite dangerous to me, Imai-Chan.” He has concluded that it was no longer a time to be shy around her anymore. He needed to make sure that Hotaru would not face Natsume’s wrath just in case something went wrong.

Hotaru only replied with a naughty smirk on her face that made Ruka slapped his own temple in frustration; this girl was totally oblivious with what Natsume capable of.

Now they could hear Mikan coughing in the midst of the pink fog. And shortly after, her scream on top of the constant bashee-like shriek could be heard from the screen. It made Natsume instantly leapt from his place towards the stairs. At that moment, Ruka grabbed his arm and said, “No, Natsume I think everything will be alright. Imai-Chan would never harm Mikan-Chan, that’s one thing for sure.”

Although very annoyed with the current moment, he had to agree with what Ruka just said. He knew quite the opposite of what it shown on the surface, Hotaru really loves Mikan. Still, he needed to help Mikan and made sure that she’s alright. He blamed himself for not checking the effects of the ball before using it to Mikan.

“You will make her deaf, Imai!!” he shouted angrily.

Hotaru merely said monotonously, “Relax. Just enjoy the show, Natsume.” That sentence pushed him over the edge and the urge to strangle her returned to him once again.

When the pink smoke has lessened its thickness, they could see the images return to the screen. Only now Mikan was no longer could be seen clearly from the screen. Her body was covered almost completely with a very huge ball oddly resembled the silver ball that Natsume has slipped under her pillow only a couple of hours ago.

“She would not be able to breathe under that thing, for God’s sake, Imai!!” yelled Natsume. His voice echoed on the empty corridor. It gave an eerie sound effect towards the current situation just like in a suspense movie.

“Wouldn’t you think that I have thought the same way? No need to worry, this ball would not suffocate or make her deaf,” she said in the same monotonous tone as a weather forecaster explaining this morning’s weather.

As if proving the truth of her statement, the ball popped with a loud sound before their eyes and returned back to its normal form. Everything went quiet and calm like nothing ever happened. Both the screen and the corridor have returned back to their silence condition.

The three of them still not leaving her gaze from the screen when Hotaru said, “Do you want to be a pervert and see her change clothes as well, boys?”

The two boys just realized what she meant when finally Mikan woke up from her bed with crumpled pajamas and a very messy hair. Both boys still could see her walking slowly while still slightly panting towards her wardrobe and taking off her pajamas one by one on her way there.

Cursing loudly Natsume changed his glance towards the stairs, as if waiting for the girl to come any moment now. Ruka suddenly found his own shoes to be very interesting. Both of them somehow looked lost and turned to all the shades of red.

The poor boys were blushing even madder when finally Hotaru spoke once again, “Wow!! Both of you should really see this!”

“Imai!!” bellowed Natsume in a threatening tone.

--

“Boys...” muttered Hotaru when she returned back to her class. If only at that moment both boys really took a closer look, they would know that actually nothing could be seen from the screen. She has already turned it off by the time Mikan took off her pajamas. But what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, right? Beside, it was always nice to see those two overreacting like that; a rare sighting indeed.

Guess she wasn’t known as the Blackmailer Queen for nothing after all.…

-- to be continued --

A/N: Wow. A very long day indeed for Natsume heheheheh (smiling). Don’t forget to leave your comments, guys.