Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice

A week later, Hotaru Imai sat in her office, lightly drumming her fingertips on the desk before her as her secretary handed her a folder. The poor young man looked ready to faint at the sight of his usually taciturn boss actually smiling. The tiny upward curve of the lips was so out of character for her that after giving a small, unnecessary bow, which elicited no response other than a curt dismissal, he wondered who she had killed the day before.

Hotrau opened the folder and her expression grew brighter at the sight of the bill that lay within it.

Imai Cooperation

Robotics Unit

#117645*7647#90

Product:

Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl Unit

Quantity:

No.s, 1

Credit Card Number:

Registered to:

Mikan Sakura

Thank you for purchasing an Imai product! If the product is defective or you wish to exchange it for another within 15 days of purchase please contact our Customer Care Centre (open 24x7) at 1 – 800 – GA immediately!

The money that Mikan had paid her for the unit after selling her house and almost everything else she owned still made Hotaru happy by mere recollection of the exact sum. It was undoubtedly one of the most brilliant deals she had ever made.

Another piece of paper was kept below the first, with two clippings pasted on it. The first one, a piece from The Alice Times, read:

Happily Ever After!

(Picture of a brown haired girl in a white dress, holding a bouquet of flowers, with a handsome blonde man standing beside her)

The wedding of Ms. Mikan Sakura to Mr. Ruka Nogi, both graduates of Alice Academy, took place in the day. No rain occurred to mar the beauty of the event and the sky remained a clear, pristine blue. The wedding took place in a local church with friends and family of the bride and groom in attendance, followed by a celebration in a specially erected tent on the groom's estate. The bride was radiant and cheerful and the groom equally satisfied with his excellent choice. Close friend of the family, Anna Umenomiya, was responsible for the towering wedding cake. A live band played tunes to further enliven the mood and the event ended on a high note with the groom and bride locked in a passionate embrace on the dance floor.

The second clipping, on the other hand, was a photocopy of a marriage certificate confirming that Natsume Hyuuga and Mikan Sakura had married in Las Vegas, USA. The certificate had just arrived from the Clark County Recorder's Office, Marriage Bureau. Strangely enough, the date of the wedding on the certificate was exactly one day before the date The Alice Times had printed the first article.

This meant that both marriages had taken place on the same day.

Hotaru heard her office door being pushed open but didn't bother looking up. There was only one person in Imai Cooperation who would dare enter her office without knocking.

"Well?" asked Narumi, twirling his latest plaything, an old fashioned handheld fan.

She looked at him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation on her face. "You're a lot cannier than you look."

He gave a flourishing bow, like an actor stepping onto the stage at the end of a play and waiting for applause that he knows he deserves.

"But was such an elaborate plot really necessary?"

"Ah, Hotrau-chan! You don't understand the creativity that leaps from my soul! I must express it!"

"In other people's lives?"

"But you must admit, my plan rid us of our most unmanageable Unit and made enough money to satisfy even you! We got the costs of far, far more than two Units back on the sale of the last Mikan Sakura Cheerful Girl Unit!"

"We could have just recycled the Unit for scrap metal."

"No!" said Narumi, aghast, "Toss away such a beautiful creation?"

"It set three factories on fire."

He waved his fan again and said, "We have enriched three lives! What are three factories?"

"Currently, ashes."

"Precisely!"

Hotaru looked at the man in front of her and wondered for the millionth time why she had chosen a madman as her partner.

END

AN: I'm extremely sorry for updating a week later than promised! A special thanks to Miko (MikoKagome1113) whose reviews were always super encouraging :)

In case anyone didn't get it, Mikan and the Mikan Unit married Natsume and Ruka. Who the real Mikan married is an open question, you can assume whatever you like based on which pairing you prefer. Or maybe the two Mikans switch around between the two boys? Who knows ;)

- Liz