Dislcaimer: If I owned it... There would have been a season 2 for it a looong time ago.
But I do own every awkward and embarrassing thing that happens here. So no stealing that.
Author's Note: I'm sorry. But this just HAD to get out. This little plot bunny has been plaguing my mind for months and I only got the chance to write this now. Anyway, hope you enjoy it.
A gift to all my friends who have all reached the age of adulthood, and to all of you who have reached that age as well. :)
ONWARDS!!
The Things That Happen On Debutante Balls
By
BlakRythem
****
The brunette sighed as she tried to get the obstinate curl that was sticking on top of her head to straighten down to the rest of the curly pile that fell on her shoulders. She brushed it down for what seemed to be the nth time that afternoon, and just when she thought she had conquered the small curling tuft, it sprang back up yet again. She reached for the bottle of hair gel on her desk and sighed when she found it empty. She glared at the hair standing on her head, as if doing so would make the problem go away. As she did, a few loud knocks were heard from her door and then came the voice of her slightly irritated best friend
"Hurry it up in there you idiot. We don't have all day you know."
Mikan set down her brush on the table and stood up to open the door for the mildly annoyed inventor. Hotaru was already dressed in a strapless lilac ball gown with beaded pearls embroidering the top, and a silver necklace adorning her neck. Her short raven hair was decorated with a white rose. As lovely as she looked, Mikan could see the disapproval on her pretty face.
"What's taking you so long in here?" Hotaru reprimanded, her gloved hands folded against her chest as her high-heeled shoes tapped against the tile, indicating her impatience.
Mikan sheepishly grinned at her and pointed at the curly hair on top of her head that looked like an antenna. Hotaru gave her a dead look before leading her back into the room and letting her sit on the chair.
"Hotaru, do we really have to do this? I feel so awkward in this dress." Mikan said as Hotaru took off her gloves and took out a sachet of hair gel from her bag.
"It's not like we have a choice. It's one of the Hanahime(1) traditions." She said as she squeezed the sachet of its contents and applied it on the top of Mikan's head, taming the curl.
Mikan sighed. As per Hanahime tradition, the day before a Princess graduates, she would be formally introduced into society. This made it seem like one of those Debutante balls... Or in this case, Hi-sama flaunting the beauty of her Flower Garden.
"Yeah, but don't you think that the pomp could have been... I don't know... reduced? It's hard to breathe in this dress... It feels as if it's squeezing my stomach a bit too much. Couldn't we just get in those dresses we usually wear on the school festivals?" She said as she gestured towards her curves were her orange skirt flared out.
Hotaru made her stand up so she could loosen the brown obi-like strap around her slim waist, relieving the brunette of the pain "Idiot. What do you think this is, The Last Dance? Quit you're complaining. You were the last person I'd thought would do so in such events as these." Mikan laughed before another knock came from the door. The door slightly opened, and a small voice very familiar to Mikan started saying,
"Mikan-chan, Hotaru-chan... Everyone's already assembled..."
Mikan smiled and walked over to let the girl in. Ibaragi Nobara looked over at her two kouhais and smiled brightly at them. "You two look lovely." She said.
Mikan beamed at her, "You look really beautiful too, Nobara-chan!" Nobara blushed at the compliment. She already went through the whole Debutante Ball two years ago and was personally requested by Hi-sama to be an usherette that particular year.
Hotaru cleared her throat. "Party." She simply said, walking out of the room. "Hurry it up you slowpoke before I leave you." She said to Mikan as she went ahead of her.
"W-Wait Hotaru! I want to go together!" Mikan cried out, nearly stumbling with the high heels that graced her feet.
-----------
"Wow! There are so many people! I don't remember the Hanahime having THIS much members." Mikan said in awe, surveying the huge room of the High School Department. "In fact, I don't remember the High School Division having a ball room as big as this!"
Hotaru rolled her eyes at her, "You sound as if you haven't spent the last eight years of your life in this academy, ahou(2)."
Nobara laughed at the sight of the two friends bickering... Well, more like Mikan protesting at every blunt insult that Hotaru made. Has it really been seven years since they defeated the Elementary School Principal? Looking at the two girls who were responsible for the freedom of the Academy from that tyrannical midget, it felt so unbelievable to see them standing there clad in their long ball gowns, ready to step out of the Academy and face the world as full grown women.
Her thoughts were cut short when she heard the music cuing for the debutantes' entrance. "Uumm... Mikan-chan, Hotaru-chan. It's time."
Mikan looked across the wide balcony and her face lit up when she saw Ruka and Natsume lined up together with the other escorts. All of them were in their best suits of course. Mikan's smile widened and yelled out to them, "Natsume! Ruka-pyon!"
She caught their attention all right, but she also caught the attention of Yamanouchi Shizune, the former leading princess of the Hanazono-kai(3), who currently served as the master of ceremonies. She looked at where a waving Mikan was and glared at her, making Mikan whimper and hide behind the drapes that decorated the balcony the debutantes and the escorts stood on.
"Serves that idiot right; she isn't supposed to be yelling from across the room on occasions like these." Natsume said in a low voice, hiding the amusement in his eyes. Ruka laughed and waved at Mikan. Mikan smiled and waved back at them before being called to line up with the other Hana Hime members.
"Mikan no Kimi! Stop fooling around and line up with other Hanahime!" One of the usherettes huffed, pointing to where all the other girls were lining, ready to descend the grand staircase.
"Oh, sorry." Mikan started to move away from the drapes but then stopped on her tracks when she felt something on her hip snap and the cotton fabric beneath her dress slowly slipped down from her hip to the middle of her thighs. Panic rose from her hazel eyes realizing that if she made any sudden movements, that piece of fabric would inevitably drop to the floor.
And let me tell you, that certain cotton-made fabric was not something people see on the floor every day...
... Unless it's in a woman's unkempt bedroom...
'Crap.'
Nobara noticed the distressed look on Mikan's face, "What's wrong, Mikan-chan?" She asked the younger girl. Mikan waved at Nobara to come closer to her so that she could whisper.
"N-Nobara-chan... h-help.... My... my..." Mikan started to whisper in Nobara's ear, wary of the people around her. Nobara's eyes widened at what Mikan was saying, "Y-You can't pull it up?" Mikan shook her head, her eyes were pleading. "Please Nobara-chan!"
"O-Okay, let's go to the girl's restroom." She said. Mikan nodded as she let Nobara lead her there.
"Mikan-chan! How in the world could the garter snap off?" Nobara asked incredulously as she unzipped Mikan's dress and gave Mikan the privacy to lift up the skirt.
"I-I don't know! It just suddenly snapped. I knew these wouldn't last but I didn't have any clean ones to wear for today anymore; all of them are still wet and this was the only dry one!" She said as she pulled the fabric that was already on her knees back up to her hips. She pulled her skirt down; making sure that the fabric was secured before anything else.
Nobara had her hand on her chin, "I don't know Mikan-chan. I think it's better if I lent you some shorts just to be saf—" She was cut off by a loud knocking on the restroom's door.
"Girls!! What are you doing? There isn't enough time for retouches! Do that after the cotillion!" An usherette said through the door. They heard her mutter something incoherent and then her footsteps padding off to where the balcony was.
"I guess we don't have time for that. Let's go Nobara-chan!" Mikan said as she opened the door.
"But are you sure you'll be okay?"
Mikan smiled at her and grabbed her gloved hand. "I'll be fine!"
The boisterous chatter and laughter filling the ballroom faded as Shizune walked up to the podium, the long white train of her gown trailing on the floor.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting patiently. I am proud to introduce to all of you, the graduating batch of Flower Princesses from our fine Garden."
"That's our cue."
As Shizune called out the names of each debutante and her escort, both would meet at the center of the balcony and bow, then descend the grand stair case and wait for the very last pair, and the dance would start.
"Waka Murasaki and her escort Himawari no Kimi."
Ruka almost fell down at the use of his Flower name. "Eeh... Why do they need to use my Flower name of all things?" Ruka muttered to himself as he rubbed his temples. Of all the flower names they could possibly think up, his had to sound like a girl's! Natsume chuckled as he pat Ruka on the back. "Time to get out there." Ruka smiled and stepped out from behind the curtains and offered his hand to Hotaru. Hotaru smiled at him as she placed her gloved hand in his and descended the grand stair case.
"If you drop me, you're dead."
Ruka gulped and stared at her for a second but then laughed at her comment.
Mikan watched her two friends as they descended the stairs. She smiled when she saw her best friend wearing one of the brightest smiles she ever saw her wear. Hotaru said something that made Ruka laugh as they took their places across each other on the dance floor.
After a few other names, the last pair was finally called:
"Mikan no Kimi and Guren no Kimi."
Mikan laughed at the look Natsume wore at the mention of his flower name before stepping out from the curtains where she met Natsume. After bowing, he smirked at her, "Don't trip." He whispered as he offered her his hand. She returned his comment with a scowl. "Not even planning on it, stupid fox." She said as she let him lead her down the stairs.
Mikan was mindful of where she was going, being careful not to trip on her heels as Natsume made sure she didn't fall on her face as they descended the stairs.
Her attention was suddenly diverted by the sudden and awkward feeling of something slipping down from her loin area. She stopped walking, making Natsume look at her, an eyebrow raised.
"What's wrong?"
Mikan's eyes were wide in what seemed to be filled distress. She put her hand on her side and felt that the fabric had yet again slipped to just below the hip.
'And just when I made sure that it wouldn't move anymore!' She mentally screamed.
"Mikan."
Her head snapped up to look at Natsume who had a worried look on his face.
'If I tell him now... the dance will be ruined... And I'll be the laughing stock of the whole campus if they ever find out what was wrong...'
She grinned at him and shook her head, "Nothing's wrong. Come on."
Natsume gave her a weird look before they continued to descend the stairs and took their places on the dance floor.
Mikan started fidgeting and kept her legs closed in order to keep the fabric that used to encase her intimate part from falling further down. Their dance didn't require much movement so chances were, it wouldn't drop down on the floor...
...Maybe.
The music started, and the couples walked to the center of the dance floor and bowed, starting the dance.
"What happened back there? Are you nervous?" Natsume whispered in her ear as they danced. Mikan shook her head. "No. Of course not, I was just... distracted... that's all." She half-lied.
"Really? Because from the way you're acting, it's as if your underwear's falling off."
Mikan suddenly laughed out loud, surprising Natsume and the other dancers as they continued to dance. Obviously, that was not the reaction Natsume was anticipating from the brunette.
"Oh, you've no idea." She muttered under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
As they danced around the room, horror shook Mikan when she felt that her undergarment was starting to descend down her knee, forcing her to start moving like a duck.
'Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap!!' She chanted in her head.
Natsume noticed that his girlfriend was moving awkwardly against him. Unlike the other girls that were dancing, she was taking very small steps as she danced, and she was slower than usual too.
He dipped his head down, "Tell me the truth, Mikan. What's bothering you?"
She looked up at his ruby red eyes and saw the worry that filled them. She looked down again and sighed. She had no other choice but to tell him the truth.
"My—"
But before she could even say anything, her underwear slithered down to her ankles, making her literally freeze in place. Her eyes were the size of saucers as sweat started to form on her forehead.
If this was some sort of cosmic joke that the gods decided to play on her, then they were probably laughing their asses off at that very moment.
"Mikan? Mikan!" Natsume started yelling at a zoned out Mikan.
The other couples all halted when Natsume yelled.
"Mikan..." Hotaru said as she left Ruka's arms and made her way towards her best friend.
"What happened? What's with Mikan?"
"Mikan no Kimi! Are you all right?"
"Sakura! What's wrong?"
Mikan looked around at the people that were surrounding her. Panic filled her whole being. This had to be the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen to her. Upon not knowing what to do... She decided to do what most women would do in desperate times like these....
She fainted.
"Mikan!" Natsume yelled out as he held on to her. She squeezed her eyes shut, and voluntarily went limp in his arms, hoping that they would all buy the fainting act.
"Get her to the infirmary now!" Mikan heard Shizune say, and then she felt herself being literally swept away on her feet and into someone's arms. Most probably Natsume.
----------------
She felt him adjust her in his arms as he briskly walked away to the infirmary. She allowed herself a peep and saw that he had a worried look on his face.
She rubbed her ankles together and mentally sighed in relief when she felt that the fabric was still there.
She felt Natsume kick the infirmary door open, and felt herself being laid down on a soft bed, head first. The nurse must've been out since no one tended to her when they entered the infirmary. She kept her eyes closed for a moment, waiting for Natsume to go away until...
"You know, you can open your eyes now. No one else is in here." She heard him say.
Her eyes snapped open and she turned her head to him. He was sitting on a chair beside the bed, his face void of the worry that she saw earlier. Now he wore that trademark bored look.
"Are you okay?" He asked her.
She slowly nodded, looking at him suspiciously. "I... I just felt a little light headed, that's all." She lied.
He stared at her for a moment. Mikan swore she saw the side of his lip quirk ever so slightly.
"Hn."
'Hn?!'
Natsume stood up from the chair. "I'll just leave you here to rest up and tell them what you said. I'll get Ibaragi and Imai here to keep you company" He said as he made his way to the door.
Mikan rested her head on the pillow, relieved that whatever he was thinking at that moment, he didn't reveal to her. She felt for her ankle and her eyes widened. She jerked up on bed and raised her dress and was shocked to see that the underwear that had slipped on her ankles had gone.
'Oh no! Did it drop off on the way or did he...'
"By the way... You should really consider something lacy the next time you decide to drop these kind of things off... Heart-prints." Natsume said, a smirk on his face. She looked at him in sheer horror when she realized what he was raising up. She suddenly remembered a very similar scene... Eight years ago when they first met. Her face turned beet red as her mouth opened, and then closed, still in a state of shock.
"I'll get Imai to get you an extra pair." He said, throwing her underwear on her lap and left before she could say anything.
Natsume Hyuuga... has successfully taken her underwear for the second time in her life...
And this time, he didn't need to do anything to do so.
'The perverted fox.'
She slammed her head on the pillow and raised the blanket over her head and screamed against the pillow.
Oh yes. A debutante ball was one of the most unforgettable experiences a girl can ever go through stands true to Mikan. Sure enough, she won't be forgetting this even when her hair turns white. Right now, the phrase "Coming of age" was like a slap to her face.
And unfortunately Natsume wwill never let her hear the end of this any time soon either.
Author's Note: That was....... awkward. Ah... to those who've never read the manga, I'd be happy to put in the meaning of everyone's flower names, but only if someone requests it. Otherwise, the flower names aren't really essential to the story (just for plain fun).
Hanahime-Flower Princess
Ahou-Stupid
Hanazono-kai-Flower Garden
Anyway, please review. I know there are some errors in there that I've missed. I'll be sure to correct them later on.