[Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice. It belongs to Higuchi Tachibana-sama]

Chapter Five: The Mood Pendant

The morning dawned in Gakuen Alice again. It was time for another day at school. Everyone was in his or her seats. Their teacher just entered the classroom.

"Good morning class!" Mr. Narumi said with optimism.

"Morning sensei." The class seemed bored.

"Don't give me that look, guys! I have good news." He said, " we're going on a field trip!"

"Eh? Inside the school campus?" Mochuu asked.

"Surprisingly, no. It's out of town and the city."

The class became lively. The class was filled with chatters from students.

"Strictly speaking, they called it an excursion. I like to call it a field trip. But, let's go along with excursion, anyway."

Everyone was pleased.

Yuu spoke up, "so, where are we going, sensei?"

"They said it was in a remote area where there's a villa, owned by the school of course. It's perfect for a vacation."

The class became noisier as each and everyone of them were creating a fuss on the "excursion."

So, after class, Kyosuke and Atsushi decided to tell Mikan where they're going.

"Mikan-chan!" Kyosuke called.

"Oh, hey there!" Mikan waved back.

They met up in Central Town yet again. It was their favorite hangout place.

"So, what's up?" she asked.

"Well, we want to tell you about this excursion we're having." Atsushi said.

"Excursion?" Mikan asked, confused.

"Sort of a field trip." Kyosuke continued.

"Field trip? Outside or just within the campus?" Mikan asked, with sheer curiosity.

"Outside." Kyosuke said.

"Mr. Narumi said it was outside, for a change, he said." Atsushi said.

"No way. That's a big risk… Outside where you guys are exposed." Mikan said in a whisper.

"We'll be alright, I guess. Don't you wanna come?" Kyosuke asked. They simply adored Mikan.

"No, no. I'm not part of the class." Mikan said.

"Yeah. But you were, even before we did." Atsushi said.

"You're right. I was. But not anymore." Mikan said.

"Oh well. There's no way we can talk you into this, huh?"

"Nope, definitely not." Mikan said with a huge grin.

They all laughed.

"Mikan!" someone called.

It was Yuu and the gang.

"You're here!" Nonoko said.

"Yeah. I'm here." Mikan said as she waved to them.

"So, what are you doing here?" Anna asked.

"Just talking with Atsushi-kun and Kyosuke-kun."

"Oh," Yuu said.

"By the way, where's Hotaru?"

"Hotaru? Oh, she's busy." Nonoko said.

"She's working on a project in her lab," Anna continued.

"You know, Mikan. You should really visit her." Yuu said.

"You know what?" Mikan said, "I think I will. Atsushi, Kyosuke, I'm sure you can make it back without me."

"Sure." They said in sync.

"I gotta run. Bye, guys. Thanks for the advice." Mikan ran off and waved back.

Mikan ran through town. She got on a bus and rode back to the dorm. She then found Hotaru's lab. A robot was outside holding a piece of paper, written, "Do not enter, idiot."

Mikan sweatdropped. "Is this message meant for me. The robot looks familiar." She walked closer to it and it moved.

"Mikan?" the robot spoke.

"Aminatsu! Hisashiburi!" Mikan exclaimed.

"Yeah. Long time no see! Hotaru-sama is in her lab."

"Isn't she busy?"

"I don't know. She just instructed me to post this beside the door."

"I'll enter anyway." Mikan said as she opened the door. She looked at her shoelaces and bent down to tie them.

BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! It was Hotaru's infamous Baka Gun. The Baka punches flew straight behind Mikan.

"Whoa." Mikan said.

"Didn't you read? The sign said, "Do not enter, idiot." Hotaru said, with her stoic attitude.

"Hotaru…" Mikan said with sadness.

"What do you want?" Hotaru said, with irritation.

"I just wanted to see you. Wow. The place looks great. And, uhm, more stuffy."

Hotaru didn't say anthing.

"Hotaru, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"You know, for leaving." Mikan said.

"It's not like you have a responsibility to tell me, idiot."

"I know, but I felt that I was wrong."

"You are wrong, idiot. Since you call me your bestfriend, you could have at least said something."

"I know, I know. That's why I'm sorry."

"Whatever, idiot. That's all you came here for?"

"I guess so."

"Then, you should leave now."

"I guess I should," Mikan said with a heavy heart. She walked back and as she put her hand on the knob, Hotaru stopped her.

"Hey, idiot." Hotaru threw something towards her.

Mikan caught it in both hands. It was a necklace. It had a circle pendant. The color changed from silver to purple.

"What's this?" Mikan asked.

Hotaru went to her explain-my-new-invention mode. "Invention number 712. Mood pendant. When the wearer comes to physical contact with this gadget, it displays his or her mood through color changing. It turns purple when the wearer is surprised. It turns red when the wearer is angry. It turns blue when the wearer is sad. It turns orange when the wearer is happy. It turns silver when the wearer is regretful. It turns pink when the wearer is flirty. It tuns yellow when the wearer is hungry and or thirsty. It turns translucent when the wearer is stressed. It turns black when the wearer is scared. It turns green when the wearer is nervous. There are more colors that the mood pendant changes into. The list is vast. Cost: 100,000 rabbits."

Then she came back to the real world.

Mikan smiled, "thanks Hotaru."

"Whatever, idiot. You owe me 100,000 rabbits."

"It was silver in Hotaru's hands." Mikan thought as she walked back to her dorm.

The color changed to orange. Then she made her way back to her room. She wore it as soon as she can.

She hopped into her bed and noticed a letter—with the same seal as before. Except, this time the color was blue. She changed her clothes again and carried on to the Northern Woods. She found the woman again.

"Chinmoku-san. Let us be brief tonight. There will be an excursion for one class in the middle school division. This is a decoy. They will be sent there merely as a diversion to lure the AAO, since this is out of the academy."

Mikan was silent but her mood pendant changed from purple to red.

"Now, you have to go there in disguise. Wait for the AAO to start attacking. Then counterattack. They have something of ours. When they head back, follow them and retrieve the item. A picture of the item that we're looking for is in the letter. Go."

Mikan nodded and swiftly got back to her room. As she ran from the woods, back to her room, the mood ring changed as black as the night and glistened in the moonlight.

[A/N: Chinmoku means silence in Japanese, I think. Did you like the Hotaru-Mikan moment? It was short but there'll be more. Look out for a NatsuMikan moment in the following chapters. Review, please! Thanks. ]