Disclaimer: BlakRythem does not own Gakuen Alice or My Girl (The KOREAN version). However she has used certain methods to steal them but alas, the only thing she could get in the end was a pack of gum.

Author's Note: Another three months! (OMG! This is becoming a routine!). -does kowtow to readers- I apologize for not updating as soon as I could! Depressing things drained me of all inspiration... and I had a hard time picturing out the scenes so... yeah.

Well it's here! (HAPPY!)

Anyway, thank you for your reviews! I don't think I can thank you enough for all your support -tears-

Please review this one also!!

Enjoy!!

Chapter 9: Trouble

Tobita Yuu was always complimented to be an extraordinary visionary. An honor student and the constantly elected Class President during his primary and secondary years of education. He graduated from his university as the cum laude of his batch of great thinkers. Many believed that he could reach the highest point of success in life.

"Yuu, tea." His violet-eyed friend, who was busy finishing her blue prints for her next invention, requested-- ordered.

Yuu sighed, "Yes, ma'am."

It was somewhat hard to believe that the visionary ended up working at his friend's growing electronics store as a part-time clerk... and working as a bus driving for a self-proclaimed tour guide.

Yuu gently set down the tea cup beside the busy Hotaru and was about to go back to his previous position before the phone rang.

"Yuu, phone."

Yuu sighed. He was not paid enough to do this kind of work.

"Hello?"

There was a sudden long silence and Hotaru wondered who was at the end of the line and why he called, for no one really called unless it were to promote the humble electronics store or to complain about a product... and trust me... the latter doesn't happen much.

"J-JI-SAN??" Yuu stuttered to the phone in shock.

Hotaru couldn't help but look up from her work and look at Yuu in wonder. Who was he talking to? There were a lot of "Ji-san"s in the country that they knew.

"I-I understand... Y-yes." Yuu said as he set the receiver down and looked at Hotaru. One of the most serious looks she ever saw him give her.

"Who was that?" She asked, emotion not evident.

"That was... Grandpa Sakura..." He said and paused for a while.

"He's been..."

It was a cold and dark place to be... but no, he wasn't alone. There were about twenty other people there, listening to the echoing voice of the speaker... It was as boring as an afternoon math class. Yes, no one ever wanted to be there... and I'm sure you wouldn't want to be there too.

As of the moment, Nogi Ruka was at the most boring place anyone could ever find themselves in.

A board meeting. Since he was the only son of the Nogi family, he had to take full responsibility with the family business... which was working side by side with his best friend, Natsume.

He was doing a great job in listening and asking questions to the speaker but after a few hours of boring talk, he found that the speaker's talking was lulling him to sleep. And he was finding himself falling asleep on the job right... now.

Natsume glanced from the speaker to his best friend and saw that his head was continuously lolling and snapping back up, a piece of paper crunched up into a ball suddenly flew by and hit the dozing Ruka on the head.

Ruka snapped awake as the light impact of the paper hit his forehead. He picked it up and glanced at the suspected thrower. His mother, who was always present during those times, was giving him a warning look that just screamed "pay attention or you won't see your passport again."

"And that's the end of today's meeting. I hope all of you understood the issue we are withstanding today." The speaker said as the lights were turned on, illuminating the dark room and revealing that half of the people there were just as bored as he was.

He sighed as he followed Natsume and his mother out of the room.

"That was a very enriching experience." He said, no sarcasm intended.

Maayu snorted, "It would have been if you were paying attention!" She snapped at him and used her fan to whack him before her mobile phone rang. Her mood suddenly turned to the better.

Ruka rubbed the spot where the fan hit his head, "Spa again?" He asked when his mother hung up after a few minutes with a happy smile.

"But of course! Serina and I shall be using the remaining days of our youth in the spa to replenish our beauty." She laughed.

Ruka grunted, "Serina-san can still be considered young... you on the other hand... I'm not so sure." He thought as he said goodbye to his mother who was practically skipping out to her limo.

Just as they were about to get halfway to the exit, a familiar voice called out to them.

"NATSUME!!"

Well, more to Natsume.

They both turned around to see a young brunette run after them and jolted with a huff. "Finally! I caught up with you!" She said as she tried catching her breath.

"What are you doing here idiot?"

Mikan glared at him, "What does it look like? I'm here for my--" But before she could finish her sentence, she noticed the blond standing right next to her so-called brother.

"Ah! Ruka-pyon! You're there!" She said, laughing in a silly manner.

Ruka chuckled, "Good morning to you too, Mikan-san..."

Mikan continued laughing, "Sorry, I didn't notice you there." She apologized.

Natsume snorted, "He's been standing right beside me the whole time you stupid Polka dots."

Mikan glowered at him. "WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"

"Now now... siblings shouldn't fight." Ruka said, trying to calm the two down before World War 3 started.

Natsume cleared his throat, "Sorry Ruka, but can you excuse us for a while?" He said as he grabbed Mikan's arm and dragged her somewhere where there weren't so many people to notice them.

"S-Sure?" Ruka said as he watched as his best friend dragged his little sister somewhere.

"What do you think you're doing? Barging in here like that?" Natsume demanded, giving the girl an irritated look.

"It's not as if I barged in here! The clerk let me in when I told them I was Hyuuga Jin's daughter." Mikan said smugly.

Natsume sighed as he rubbed his temples. "What do you want?"

Mikan's expression suddenly changed from a smug one to that of a serious one, saying that she was there strictly for business. "I was wondering about my pay. It's already been two week!" She demanded him.

"Didn't I lend you my card for you to withdraw your salary?"

"Of course you did bu--" Mikan stopped.

"You... didn't forget about that, did you?" Natsume asked her with a straight face.

Suddenly, the brunette started to laugh stupidly, her face flushed with embarrassment. And as if trying to hide the fact that she made a mistake, she said: "I got you believing that I forgot, didn't I?"

Natsume rolled his eyes and walked back to his best friend who was patiently waiting for them at the reception area.

"So, how did the family meeting go?" He asked them playfully.

"Stupidly." Natsume answered while Mikan just glared at him.

Ruka laughed, "Hey, since we have nothing to do this afternoon, why don't we all go watch a movie?" He suggested.

"Yeah! That's a great idea! Let's go watch, Onii-chan!" Mikan said, giving much emphasis on the endearment.

Natsume grunted. "Well it better not be something cheesy."

"I never said that I don't love you. Catherine..."

"John..."

"Catherine!"

"John!"

Natsume rested his elbow on the armrest of his seat while letting his cheek rest on his knuckles. He had a dry look on his face. Ruka busily ate his popcorn, not able to listen because of a sobbing Mikan.

Mikan sniffled, "Good for you, Catherine-san!" She said as she started crying loudly.

Natsume rolled his eyes at the overly emotional girl. "Noisy."

Mikan glared at him, "Well that's better than being an emotionless brute!" She retorted, making the other viewers of the movie go "SShhhhhhhhhh!!"

"Noisy."

"Why you..."

"Hey, you two..." Ruka whispered before another war started.

RING RING RING RING RING RING!

"Oh just great!"

"Hey punk! We're watchin' here!"

"Turn that thing off will you?!"

Came the complaints of the viewers when a mobile phone went off. Natsume hurriedly took out his blinking mobile phone. Apparently, he forgot to switch it to silent mode on their way in due to a certain... distraction.

Mikan glared at him, "Do you mind answering that outside?"

Natsume didn't need to be told what to do since, by the time Mikan had told him that, he was already standing up to leave.

Mikan turned her head to watch Natsume walk out of the exit, wondering who the caller was before the theater light went on.

They met Natsume out of the theater with a n annoyed look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Ruka asked his best friend.

"Apparently, Sumire thought it would be a great idea to hold a press conference without asking anyone first." He said as he tucked his mobile phone in his pocket.

Ruka chuckled, "I thought you'd never do anything for that woman."

"She called dad." He grunted.

"Erm... mind me interrupting... But who's this Sumire?" Mikan asked them, earning a weird look from Ruka. "You weren't informed of your brother's engagement?"

"Engagement?"

Natsume sighed, "Anyway, I need to get going." He said and averted his gaze on Mikan. "Don't stray off."

Mikan glared at him, "Do I look like a five-year old?"

Ruka laughed, "Don't worry, Mama will look after her, Papa." He joked, Natsume gave him a strange look.

"Errr... That was a joke."

"Hn. I'm going."

Ruka sighed, "Natsume seems to be getting more and more stoic every time we meet."

"More and more? That guy's been stoic since the day we met!" Mikan pointed out, making Ruka laugh.

"So, where are we going?" Mikan asked. Ruka smiled at her, "Well, I was thinking about picking up something."

"Really? What?"

"Here you go sir! Thank you for purchasing from US Mobiles!"

Ruka smiled at the vendor as he took the cardboard bag from the counter. "Thank you very much."

Mikan looked at her friend in awe, "Wow! Ruka-pyon has so much money to be able to afford such an expensive phone!"

"It's nothing much, really. Just buying necessary things." He said.

Mikan gave him a puzzled look, "Necessary? But don't you have a mobile phone of your own?"

"Hmmm... You're right." He said, unpacking the bag's contents and revealing a brand new phone, "Do you think I should give it away to someone who really needs it?"

Mikan gulped, "Umm... Yeah! Someone who really needs it!" She said, averting her eyes away from the enticing piece of technology, remembering that she once held such a thing too.

Ruka chuckled, "Would you like to have it?"

"YES!" Mikan urgently said as she grabbed the phone from his grasp and hugged it.

"THANK YOU, RUKA-PYON!!" She said, glee evident in her hazel-brown eyes.

Ruka smiled at her, "You're welcome." He said as they both left the store.

The two lady vendors looked at the young couple in astonishment.

"Mou... what a nice young man... I wish my husband would do the same to me..."

"Unfortunately, those kind of men are hard to find these days." Her companion sighed.

"Thanks for everything, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan said enthusiastically as she hugged her new phone. She and Ruka went to the park, seeing that they haven't talked casually for quite a while. That, and they didn't have anything else to do. They sat on a nearby bench after tiring themselves with their walking.

Ruka watched with amusement as Mikan fondled with her new mobile phone like a little kid.

"It's not a problem, Mikan-san."

"Ruka-pyon, the lady who's going to end up with you will be a very lucky person!" She gleefully said.

Ruka blushed, as he averted his eyes away from her. "Well... I guess she will..."

Mikan blinked at him, "Ruka-pyon, your cheeks are suddenly red, are you alright?" She densely asked as she leaned closer to him.

Ruka laughed, "Of-Of course I am! Don't need to worry about me!" He said, still flustered.

Mikan shrugged it off and went back in adoring her new phone.

"I'm really happy for you." Mikan looked up at Ruka with a puzzled look.

"For what?"

"For finally getting reunited with your family. Though I gotta be honest, I never suspected that you were my best friend's younger sister the first time we met." Ruka chuckled as he reminisced that moment.

Mikan laughed nervously, "Ummm... yeah... I never suspected it either." She said and looked down guiltily.

"So how's your grandfather? I expect everything to be fine now that you have enough money to pay a thousand debts." Ruka joked.

"My grandpa's fine! Right now he's... he's... He's on a trip to Korea!" She lied.

Ruka blinked, "Korea?"

Mikan nodded, "You see, he has a friend there and he thought that it would be a good way to restart his business!" She said, making up half of the story.

"So what kind of business is it?" Ruka asked curiously.

"W-W-What kind?" Mikan stuttered. Ruka nodded, "What kind of business is Mikan's grandfather having?"

"Ah--ahh... well... It... ummm... Has something to do with... Traveling." Mikan finally said, making weird faces as she thought of what to say.

"Oh, something like Tourism or Foreign Affairs?"

"Yeah! Exactly!" Mikan beamed as she wiped off the sweat off of her forehead. "This guy... asks too much questions."

Ruka looked up at the sky. "That's a great thing. I wish I was like you." He said, thoughtful.

She looked at him for a moment, and then then looked down with guilt-filled eyes. "No, you don't."

He looked at her. "Yeah I do. Mikan-san's free to do whatever she wishes with her life. I don't have a choice but to inherit half of a hotel. You're really lucky. I guess all good people also get good fortune in the end."

Mikan felt an arrow of shame pierce her heart. "I'm... NOT a good person." She mentally told him.

Determined to avoid the conversation, Mikan took out her phone and dialed a number.

"Who are you calling?" Ruka asked, curiously.

Mikan grinned, "Hotaru! I want her to be the very first person to receive a call from my brand new phone!" She said as she heard a click from the other line.

"Hello?"

"HOTARU! GUESS WHO HAS A BRAND NEW PHONE?"

"Oh, it's you..." Hotaru said from the other line with her usual blutness. But somehow, there was something very different about the way she said that... was it anxiety?

"Hotaru... what's wrong?" There was a long silence.

"Mikan... It's your Grandfather... He's been..."

There was a moment of silence before Hotaru's words was fully processed in Mikan's head before...

"WHAAAAT?! JAILED?! HOW?! WHEN? WHY?!" Mikan shouted hysterically at the phone, surprising Ruka.

"Don't shout it out, idiot. I don't know how and and why, he called just now saying that he's jailed here in Tokyo."

Ruka watched as the brunette listened intently to her friend while wearing a disturbed look on her face.

"Alright. I'm going over there right now!" She hung up and looked at Ruka apologetically. "Sorry, Ruka-pyon. It looks like I'm needed urgently."

Ruka frowned and asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

Mikan faked a smile, "W-Wrong? Nothing is wrong! I just really need to be somewhere else right now!"

Ruka smiled, "If you say so. Do you need a ride?"

"R-RIDE?! No! Absolutely not, you've done enough for me already! I'll just... run there!" And, before giving Ruka a chance to say anything in the matter, she sped off.

Ruka watched as the strange girl ran out of the park and then laughed.

"Sakura Mikan, you're a mystery."

"Sakura-san, you have a visitor."

Old man Sakura looked up between the steel bars and saw the one person he longed to see in weeks.

He smiled and stood up to see her better. "Mikan-chan! I'm so glad to see!" He stopped when he saw the look on Mikan's face. His hand reached out from between the bars to lift her chin up. He gave her an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry for worrying you, Mikan-chan."

Mikan narrowed her eyes at him, "Stupid Jii-chan. Why didn't you call me that you came back already?" Her grandfather laughed, "I was... gong to surprise you??" Mikan sighed, "What did you do?"

Old man Sakura scratched his head for a bit as he thought out the words that were told to him, "Hey Sonny! What was that again?" He called the guard.

The guard cleared his throat. "Assault and damage of private property."

"That's it!" The old man said, snapping his fingers. Mikan blinked at him, "What property?"

Her grandfather sighed, "Well...

Flashback:

"And how do you plan to pay for this? This is a Honda Fit, punk! Do you think that it costs a hundred yen or something?" Someone shouted out from afar, making Old man Sakura stop on his tracks and looked directly at the commotion happening right in front of him. A weird looking, sleeked haired man wearing a 70's jacket and sunglasses grabbed a young boy's (who's get-up was somewhat similar to that of a gangster's) collar and pulled him closer so that he could look at him in the eye.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I was just skating around here!"

"Oh, and I suppose that that scratch just appeared on its own!" The rich man scoffed.

"I'm tellin' ya I didn't do it!"

As the dispute continued to unfold, Old man Sakura bent down to take a closer look at the said scratch. True enough that three white lines were embedded at the front of the coal-black car. He squinted his eyes and looked at it closely and then he beamed.

"Why, this isn't a scratch! It's just plain dirt, see?" He said as he rubbed off the 'scratch' with the use of his sleeve and the three lines started to fade and left the spot plain black.

The owner huffed and let go of the boy. "Well punks like these should just rot in jail!"

With that comment said, the boy, enraged, kicked the man on the shin and then kicked the car with such force, leaving an unmistakable gap and made a run for it.

"Punk!" The owner screamed as he rubbed his sore shin and tried to chase him.

"Hey now!" The old man shouted as he also attempted to chase the boy, but clumsy as he was... or old as he was, he accidentally bumped into the man and pushed him right over a dumpster.

"Uh-oh..." Uh-oh indeed... because when he turned around, he was face to face with a police officer, and it looked like he misunderstood the whole scene.

End of Flashback.

Mikan blinked at him, and then turned to the guard. "Hey! You put in the wrong guy in jail!!" She yelled at him.

The guard merely shrugged at her. " I don't believe any of that mumbo jumbo. If you want your old man to get out, you have to talk to the guy who put him in there."

Mikan looked back at her grandfather with a determined look on her face. "Don't worry grandpa, I'm going to get you out of here and we can eat sea food together, okay?" And with that, she ran off.

"Mutual consent? Are ya kiddin' me lady?"

Mikan frowned at him, "Please sir, my grandfather's an old man and he didn't do any real harm." She coaxed.

"Hah! That old man was in cahoots with that kid from the start!" The man said as he drank down his champagne.

"You're not gonna lose anything from this! I just want a mutual consent for you."

"50,000."

The brunette cocked her head, "Huh?"

"That's how much I want. Unless you want your old man to rot in jail for the rest of his days here on earth!" He csaid, waving around his champagne glass.

Mikan glared at him, "Do you think that 50,000 just walks around the streets everyday?!"

The man shrugged arrogantly. "For your sake, let's hope it does." He cackled.

Mikan mumbled colorful words at him and made her way out of the building. She sighed, "How am I supposed to get that kind of money?" She asked herself as she opened her bag. She frowned at the amount of cash stored within her wallet. "This isn't even half of the money he wants!".

She sighed and looked at her reflection on the building's glass window. A girl she didn't recognize stood before her. Her clothes, elegant and from the latest fashion design, her face, though miserable, was clean.

"In the end, you're still the same old poor Mikan. Not a princess." She told herself and walked away, pulling out her phone.

Should she call Ruka for help?

No, if she did, then she would be exposed... and so would Natsume.

What about Hotaru?

Hotaru had a lot of money. But she relied on her too much all the time.

...Natsume?

She stopped on her tracks and stared at her phone for a moment. She finally sighed and put her phone back in her bag.

He's given more than what needs to be given. Yes, a jerk at times, but she can't always cry to him for money.

A tear trickled down from her eye and she immediately brushed it away. She tried to smile, "It's okay, right? I'll just wait for my next pay... I'll tell Jii-chan to wait a little longer..." She thought, trying to cheer herself up. She stopped, and all the tears that were threatening to fall started to leak out from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Jii-chan."

Oblivious with her actions, she went in a small building.

Unaware that the small building that she just entered was a pub.

There would always be a momentary flash, or two. And then came flying in those deadly annoying questions. Of course, he didn't bother listening to them since it was his fiancée who openly answered each and every one of them.

"And of course, we are expecting to produce great things from this marriage. The Hyuuga family is the most prestigious family here in Japan, as well as the Shoudas." Was the answer of the green-haired woman.

Of course he was asked questions himself, but his replies weren't less informative, nor were they enough. As expected from the level headed Hyuuga.

"If there won't be anything that would benefit either of the two families, then the possibility for an annulment is likely to be high." He openly answered, making Sumire look at him with wide-eyes, but then covered it by laughing and saying how silly Natsume was and making the media people ask more questions.

Then his mobile phone rang.

CLICK.

"Hyuuga."

"Natsume-kun, is Mikan-chan there with you?" Came Serina's worried voice.

Natsume's eyebrows knitted together as he said in a low voice, "No, she isn't. Isn't she back with Ruka?"

"Ruka-kun said that she ran off somewhere."

Natsume sighed, 'Idiot. Where did you run off to now?'

"Please find her, Natsume. Your father's gravely worried."

"I understand. I'm going to look for her now. Please tell father not to worry." And with that he hung up.

Natsume suddenly stood up at the middle of the interview. They all gave him a weird look.

"Natsume-kun?"

"Hyuuga-san?"

"Excuse me, I need to be somewhere right now."

"Natsume-kun!" But alas, Sumire's call was completely ignored as Natsume left the building.

She glared at the closed door. "Just who is this person my Natsume-kun always goes to so urgently?" She mumbled to herself.

"Darn that woman." He muttered to himself as he closed the car door shut and started the car, determined to find his idiotic employee. Just as he was about to back up in order to get his car out of the parking area, he saw a familiar figure of a woman swaying about in the streets, he saw her trip and then laugh out like a maniac and stood up again.

"Oh no, she didn't." He thought as he properly parked his car and walked over to her.

"Oi, baka." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. The brunette turned around fully to face him. Her face was flushed and the scent of liquor lingered from her clothes. She flashed him a goofy expression .

"OH! Iz...Miztah--hic--HYUBBAH!" She slurred out in English and started laughing hysterically.

"You're drunk." Natsume noted.

Mikan looked around, as if he was telling that to someone else and then she pointed to herself. "Me?? Ohoho--hic--hohoho! Mikan--hic-- no drunk! Always like--hic--this--hic--!" She said waving her arms around. She suddenly stopped and paused, a blank expression plastered on her face, and then she drunkenly smiled and raised her hand. "Ja." And then she turned around to leave.

"Hold it!" Natsume grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Where do you think you're going?"

"JAA--IIILLL!" She exclaimed, pointing to the sky.

"And why are you going there, pray tell?" Natsume tried. He knew that fooling around with a squanderer wasn't a really good thing. But Natsume wasn't exactly a model citizen, and he was somewhat amused with a tipsy Mikan.

The drunk girl thought for a moment and then she smiled wryly. "I'M GONNA--hic!--BREAK IN!"

Natsume sighed, "Okay, Polka-dots. Let's get you back home." He tried pulling her towards the car, but the girl suddenly wrenched her arm out of Natsume's grasp. "NO!" She cried out.

He glared at her, "Don't be stupid. You're drunk and if my dad ever finds out, I'm not the only one who's going to get his head hanged on a wall."

"Jail!--hic--Coming--hic--Jii--hic--chan!!" She said between hiccups. And then proceeded to leave, and then...

PLOP!

The drunkard girl tripped on a stone and hit her face on the snow-filled ground, making her somewhat sober. Natsume grunted and went over to her and helped her sit up, only to see her tear-streaked face. Natsume was about to say something before she suddenly grabbed the front of his jacket and started sobbing.

"JII-CHAN YOU IDIOT! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET YOU OUT OF JAIL IF I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY?!" She ranted before collapsing to Natsume's open arms.

Natsume stared at the unconscious Mikan for a few seconds and sighed.

"Stupid woman. Getting drunk for something as simple as that." He told her unconscious form and lifted her up his back and, thinking that his father won't be pleased to see his own daughter in that state, carried her to the nearest (and not so known) hotel.

At that very moment, a woman watched from the window, but only the last moments of the dramatic scene. She frowned when the raven-haired man carried the sleeping woman to a hotel. In rage, she tore off a page from the book she was reading.

"Natsume-kun, you two-timing, idiot!" She said, not daring to let her tears fall.

TBC

Author's Note:

It's... DONE! Oh my gosh, I never thought that this day would come! (cries) And it's a long one too... Ooooohhh...

Well it's pretty easy to guess who that woman is in the end. I wonder what will happen in the next chapter? (schemes)

Anyway, I decided for a little bit of an interaction with Ruka and Mikan. Hey, give the kid a break. Mikan's already going to Natsume in the real story. (shrugs)

Well, I hope you all enjoyed reading this! This is a product of sleepless nights and sore throats cough! Ouch...

and...

COFFEE!!(sighs)

Well, please review and tell me what you think! Is it too long? Or something not right? Were there moments of OOCness? (I actually think, yes there was), oh! And please tell me if there were any inconsistencies on my grammar! Such as the change in tenses and spellings! Constructive Criticism!!

Your reviews are deeply appreciated, and thank you for reading this!

Ja!!

BlakRythem.