Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

Author's Note: This small little one-shot popped out of nowhere. Hotaru's thoughts and feelings towards her ever-devoted best friend.

Summary: "So how about it, Imai? Since we're both being abandoned by our best friends, why don't you sit down with me and we'll cry together?" "Don't be ridiculous, Ruka. You know I don't cry." Despite his ridiculous suggestion, she sat down anyway. "Call me Hotaru." And they enjoyed the peace and serenity of the night as they admired the stars. On friendship and growing up. Slight H x R.

Pairing: Hotaru X Mikan

Natsume X Mikan

Ruka X Hotaru

In The Same Boat:

Hotaru Imai was worried. It was not like her to pace the floor of her laboratory anxiously despite her worries, however, so she merely sat at her work bench, hammering the last few nails into her newest invention: a puppy-bot that had fur that felt real to the touch and which was supposed to behave like a real puppy upon activation.

And of course, the only person she could possibly be worrying about was Mikan Sakura, her dense but extremely popular brown-haired best friend. She'd come to the Academy only just three years ago, and already she had stirred up the hearts of more than half of the students in the Academy, spreading light and joy everywhere she went.

For the past few months, Mikan had been growing too fast for Hotaru's comfort, and watching her best friend mature over the years was more than a little disconcerting for her.

She, who'd promised to be 'by Hotaru's side forever', had made many friends all over the school, and even befriended the most notorious and known-to-be-unfriendly boy on campus—Natsume Hyuuga.

Once an anti-social loner who only hung out with Ruka and a few others, Natsume had now opened his heart up to Mikan, and his intimidating and deadly aura, which only Mikan could be immune to, was slowly diminishing.

It wasn't difficult to see that the two were falling for each other as swiftly as meteor stars went by in the sky, and it was probably only a matter of time when one of them would inevitably confess to the other and they would start dating.

And when they finally did become a couple, Mikan would slowly grow further and further away from Hotaru. If any of the other students found out the Hotaru Imai was capable of being jealous, no doubt that everyone's jaw would drop.

An abrupt loud banging on her door shook her out of her reverie, and she got up to answer it. The brunette stood in Hotaru's doorway, smiling happily at her best friend as she thrust a big box wrapped in pink wrapping paper and tied up with a velvety purple ribbon at her.

"Here, Hotaru!" Mikan chirped, "A present for you on our sixth anniversary!"

Of course. The day when the two had met back in Nagoya. Mikan had insisted on celebrating it every year, which came of no surprise to Hotaru.

"Let's go Central Town today, Hotaru! There's this awesome new strawberry cake the Love café is introducing—I want to give it a try!" As Mikan prattled on about the exciting new things in Central Town, Hotaru walked over to her table, picked up the final product of the puppy-bot she'd invented and set it at Mikan's feet.

Instantly, it started yapping in joy and ran circles around a delighted Mikan. "Oh my gosh, Hotaru! He's so cute! Where did you buy him from?" She squealed, as she picked up the barking dog.

"The dog's an 'it', actually," Hotaru corrected, "It's one of my newest invention. Happy sixth anniversary, baka."

Tears welled up in Mikan's eyes and she sniffled, "I'm so touched, Hotaru! Thank you!" With that, she launched herself into Hotaru's arms, who made no attempt to get her off.

"If your snot gets on my uniform, you're dead." She said flatly.

When Mikan finally pulled back, a sunny smile lit up her pretty face as she said to the puppy, "I'm going to name you after Hotaru!" The puppy barked. The amethyst-eyed girl rolled her eyes.

"Thanks a lot for likening me to a dog." Her tone was dry, and they started walking down the corridor, with the small little dog in Mikan's arms.

Mikan dropped little Hotaru off in her bedroom and kissed it goodbye, before the two best friends proceeded to get out of the main school building.

They were out of the main building and halfway across the large grass patch (the one near the giant Sakura tree Natsume was famous for hanging around at) when Mikan spotted Ruka standing at the tree, his back to them. Excitedly, she jumped up and down and waved her left arm frantically at the blonde. "RUKA-PYON!" She shouted, and the said boy turned his head around to see the enthusiastic girl.

"Hey, Sakura." He greeted, a smile quickly forming itself on his lips and several girls in the vicinity swooned upon seeing it. "Are you on your way to Central Town? I was thinking of visiting Arisa's Pet World." Arisa's Pet World was one of the most popular pet shops in Central Town, and it sold the cutest domestic animals, ranging from hamsters to poodles.

Natsume, who'd been hidden behind Ruka because he had been sitting down, removed the manga book that was lying on his face and stood up slowly. "I could hear your loud voice even from the main building, polka dots." He drawled lazily, placing his left hand in his pocket.

Mikan scowled and proceeded to protest loudly, "My name is not polka dots, you stupid pervert! I'm Mikan! Sa-ku-ra Mi-ka-n!" She pronounced them slowly, as if afraid he wouldn't be able to catch the phonetics.

Natsume merely ignored her and walked to Ruka's side. "Come on, Ruka. Let's go already. I'm about to become deaf if I stay here any longer."

Oblivious to what Natsume had meant, Mikan brightened up visibly. "Eh? You're going to Central Town too? Let's all go together, then!" She cheered, hugging Hotaru's arm, and the latter quickly pushed her off.

"Don't cling onto me like that. It's annoying." Her sharp but clear voice stated, but Hotaru knew she was just slightly irritated that Mikan had invited the two boys without any hesitation. So much for spending their sixth anniversary of being friends together, she thought, walking a step behind the others as Mikan and Natsume started up another quarrel. It really couldn't be helped that they were becoming so close, Hotaru realized. She was growing up fast, and slowly the distance between them would grow as well.

"Natsume! Stop flicking my forehead!" Mikan grumbled, placing her hands on her hips.

He merely grunted, but couldn't resist one last flick and Mikan ended up chasing him screaming bloody murder. Hotaru stood still for a moment as she took in the scene before her, feeling insecure for once in her life.

And when she finally does grow up, just where will I stand in her life then?

Ruka noticed that while Natsume was insulting Mikan, Hotaru was trailing behind them, an unreadable look on her face. But if he forced himself to look closely at her eyes, there was an unmistakable expression in them. Loneliness. Stroking Usagi, he fell in pace with her. The lively couple in front of them was the ones breaking the silence, and Ruka sighed.

Recently, Natsume had been hanging out less with the gang, and to say that Koko and Mochu and Kitsuneme missed him was an understatement. The blonde-haired boy couldn't help noticing that his best friend had been spending more and more time at the Sakura tree during break time and after classes. It was the one spot he knew where Mikan would most likely find him at. It almost seemed as if Natsume was trying to tie himself to the memories he had with Mikan.

He'd gotten over his crush for Mikan a year ago, when she nearly broke his heart by telling him that he 'would always be her good friend'. Surprisingly, Hotaru seemed to understand, and laid off the blackmailing for a period of time, when he was in one of his lowest moods. Ruka had never been more grateful for that. Although she merely waved it off by saying dismissively when he questioned her about it, "Nobody would want to buy pictures of a gloomy Ruka Nogi. Your pictures would be of no value while you're in this state." And that was that.

Weird.

"So, Imai, how's life going?" He wanted to smack himself when he heard how lame he'd sounded once the words came out of his mouth. It was as if Ruka was an old friend of Hotaru's who'd only just met her and now they were catching up with each other.

She raised an eyebrow at a swiftly reddening Ruka and shrugged. Okay. Maybe I should ask something more specific. "So why are you so quiet? I mean, normally you aren't so quiet whenever Sakura-san is with you and I think that smile of yours when you're talking to Mikan is really pretty, and—" Ruka shut his mouth, looking utterly horrified. Why the hell had he been prattling on about random things to Hotaru? And even worse, he'd told her he thought her smile was pretty. He wasn't lying, but telling that to the person in question was just plain weird. The cynical and darker side of his brain snorted. Why do you even care if she's not talking? It's not as if it's the end of the world if she's being quieter than usual. It's more like it's the end of the world that you're unconsciously overly concerned that she's being quieter than usual.

Oh, shut up. He told it crossly, and risked a glance at the Ice Queen's face. There was a faint smirk on her face, which clearly told him she'd heard his innermost thoughts and feelings on her smile. Still, she said nothing and the two walked on in uncomfortable silence to the bus stop, with Mikan and Natsume being so occupied their argument that they were oblivious to the eerie atmosphere behind them.

Pretty. That was the first time Ruka Nogi had ever complimented her, and Hotaru herself was surprised by the sudden declaration. Heck, even the rambling he'd suddenly launched into earlier wasn't premeditated.

Nevertheless, she opened her mouth when she saw that Ruka was practically squirming by the time they were seated together in the bus. "I'm rarely loud and noisy, Nogi. You, out of all everyone else, should know that best." Hotaru knew he did. Because whenever she blackmailed him with all the incriminating evidence of his embarrassing affairs with all the animals, she was always the one who was calm and poised, whilst he practically screamed the place down in his frustration.

"I'm not saying that you're loud and noisy, Imai. But this you," here he gestured at Hotaru, "is so much quieter than how you normally are. I mean, a few weeks back you'd at least be killing Sakura-san's brain cells by shooting her god-knows how many times in the head with your upgraded Baka gun and telling her to keep quiet. Now you're all silent and gloomy—" Hotaru narrowed her amethyst eyes at him, "and just sort of trudging behind her, like you don't want to talk unless it's absolutely necessary."

This last sentence struck her hard, and Hotaru stared at Ruka with widened eyes. "I-" She started, but found that she did not have any appropriate words to retort at him. Instead, Hotaru clasped her hands together and placed them in her lap, opting to stare out of the bus window.

Hotaru had been so caught up in her thoughts and so worried about how Mikan was going to change and slowly leave her behind, she didn't even realize that she was acting out of the ordinary. Hotaru hated to admit it, but if Mikan ever did grow apart from Hotaru, she would probably lapse back into the old her—cold, unfeeling and calculative.

He'd hit a nerve. The very thought was so unfamiliar when it came to Hotaru that he himself was overwhelmed. Ruka stared at Hotaru, who was looking extremely uncertain as she looked out the window, and wondered if the change in her behaviour was because of Mikan. She'd appeared normal earlier on when Mikan was talking to her before the former spotted Ruka, but had abruptly become quiet when she invited Natsume and him to Central Town together.

If the reason was because of Natsume and him, Ruka would definitely feel guilty. However, because the reason was unknown as for the moment, he simply leant back in his seat and observed just how cute Natsume and Mikan looked together.

"CENTRAL TOWN, HERE I AM!" Mikan squealed enthusiastically, clasping Hotaru's hand. Apparently, she seemed to have remembered that Hotaru was there with her once all four of them alighted the bus, "Let's go celebrate our sixth anniversary, Hotaru!"

Natsume raised an eyebrow, and Ruka could just hear the silent question he was asking him. Sixth anniversary? Somehow, Ruka could just guess what it was for, and he was sure that Natsume could, too. Mikan turned to the two boys and said cheerily, "Want to come with us? We're going on an eating spree!" Hotaru rolled her eyes at her best friend's childishness.

Before Natsume could open his mouth to which Ruka was sure he would accept the invitation, no doubt through a roundabout manner, but still accepting it nonetheless, Ruka intercepted and said kindly to Mikan, "It's fine. Thanks for offering though, Sakura-san. But Natsume and I have some things we need to get urgently from some of the shops." Natsume seemed to have understood that he wanted to leave them to have some time alone, but he still had a look of what-the-hell-are-you-doing when Ruka tugged at Natsume to drag him to Arisa's Pet World. Mikan pouted, but quickly recovered and shouted a loud 'good-bye' to them.

As he pulled Natsume away, Ruka could've sworn he saw a look of gratitude in Hotaru's usually unreadable eyes.

"Hotaru, that chocolate sundae of yours looks so scrumptious! Can I have some, please?" Mikan wheedled, putting on a puppy-eyed pleading look, and the said girl relented.

"One spoonful." She warned, before passing her silver spoon to Mikan, even though she knew Mikan would probably gobble up half her food anyway.

They had been to almost all of Central Town's famous attractions, and eaten more than 20 types of deserts and sweets. Hotaru was almost getting a toothache, and she let Mikan know by adding on 40000 rabbits to the debt she already owed Hotaru for breaking one of her inventions. Needless to say, Mikan was more than a little mortified.

"Mmm! This is one of the best days of my life!" Mikan twirled about on the town square and Hotaru eyed her amusedly. She was so easily pleased that whoever married her would be very lucky with her easy-going character. Mikan checked her watch and nearly shrieked in shock. "OH MY GOD! It's nearly seven now! No wonder I felt that the sky was turning a little too dark!" She grabbed Hotaru's wrist, "Come on, Hotaru! Let's get back to school!"

And so they dashed all the way from Central Town to the Academy, apparently because it was too late to catch a bus back, and they made it just in time before the school gates closed. Mikan heaved a sigh of relief, and from behind her erupted the security guard's voice, "HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU TWO ARE DOING?" Both Hotaru and Mikan turned around to see a harried-looking Ruka and an unperturbed Natsume climb the Academy's gates, and jump, safely hitting the ground, unscathed.

"We lost track of the time and got back a little late," Ruka explained curtly to the guard, who was still looking a bit pissed. Natsume ignored him, and just walked ahead.

"Let's go, Ruka." He said, not looking back, and his eyes met Mikan's surprised ones when he looked in her direction.

"Natsume? I thought you just went to Central Town to buy some things with Ruka-pyon?" She asked in surprise.

They had originally gone to Central Town with the purpose of merely purchasing some items, but once they got Natsume's favourite manga store, no matter how much Ruka tugged at him, he stood rooted to the ground and refused to budge. Some best friend, nearly getting the both of us in trouble, Ruka thought dryly, shaking his head. Before they knew it, time had flown by and it was seven in the evening.

"Like it's any of your business what we did, stars." He heard Natsume comment, and Mikan's eyes immediately flew open as she realized what he was referring to.

"Natsume you big fat pervert! Stop peeking at my underwear!" She exclaimed, flying at him in a rage. Hotaru hung back to look at them amusedly.

Typical Natsume behaviour, Ruka thought, striding to them.

"Oh, yeah! Natsume, have you eaten yet?" Mikan asked the crimson-eyed boy thoughtfully, putting a finger to her chin. "I've just eaten some banana splits and ice-cream sundaes with Hotaru, but I still feel like I'm starving!"

"Two dozens, more like." Hotaru put in, and her best friend pouted at her.

Natsume had eaten dinner an hour ago in Central Town already, Ruka knew, but apparently he wanted an excuse to spend more time with her, because he agreed to accompany her to the dining hall and the blonde nearly sniggered at how whipped he realized Natsume was.

Seriously.

Hotaru decided to join them since she was an even bigger eater than Mikan and she also wanted to get some crab brains, they all traipsed off to the dining hall. After twenty minutes, Natsume declared that he was full and Ruka obediently followed him and they left to the school rooftop, where they normally hung out at during the night if they didn't go to the Sakura tree. It was mainly because Natsume enjoyed the quiet, and because Ruka liked observing the stars.

"So, when are you asking her out?" Ruka said conversationally, breaking the silence between them.

Natsume nearly choked. "Ask who out?" He sounded normal, but Ruka knew that he was actually a little chagrined at how the first topic of their conversation had turned out.

"Sakura-san, of course. Everyone knows you like her." Ruka said dismissively as he laid down on the rooftop, leaving his sitting position.

"Like hell I do." Ruka couldn't stop himself from sighing in exasperation at Natsume's stubbornness.

"How long are you going to stay in a state of denial, Natsume?"

Natsume paused and didn't reply for a long time. "I'm not in a state of denial." He finally answered. Then he stood up and Ruka glanced up at him.

"Where are you going?"

"To the Sakura tree."

Ruka snickered. "And you say you aren't in a state of denial. Using my status as a best friend, I say that you're going to the Sakura tree in hopes that you'll catch her there as well."

And this time, Natsume didn't deny it. "Don't you know me well, Ruka." Was his reply, and he left. The said boy couldn't stop the smile coming onto his face as he turned back to the skies and admired the stars. Barely two minutes later, there was the sound of foot steps and Ruka sat up to see a Hotaru with a slightly surprised expression on her face.

"Hey, Hotaru." He greeted, "I didn't know you came up here often." He patted the spot next to him as a gesture for her to sit down, but she ignored it and remained standing.

"I rarely come here at night, and usually it's because I've got some things to think about or because I just want the peace and quiet." She didn't even know why she was regaling this information to him, but she kept talking anyway. "And it wasn't that I didn't want to talk unless absolutely necessary." This sentence came out a touch sharper than she expected it to. "It's just—I was just worried and thinking about some matters earlier on this morning, is all." She looked at him defiantly, daring him to defy her words.

To her surprise, he merely nodded in understanding and laid back down, looking up at the skies. "I get it. And anyway, I saw it in your eyes when we were on our way to Central Town. You were worried about Mikan, weren't you?" Hotaru hesitated, before decided not to reply. "You were anxious that if she grew further and further away from you, you would get lonelier."

"It wasn't just that." She cut across his words and his eyes widened in surprise. "It's just that, I didn't expect her to grow up that fast." Hotaru had never opened up her feelings to freely to anyone, not even Mikan, so she was surprised when the words just blurted out of her mouth, out of her control. "She's maturing more and more everyday—and if I was honest with myself, I was just afraid that she would leave me behind when she's finally all grown up. And by that time, I'll have to relinquish that number one position in her heart to someone else."

"Someone else; you're referring to Natsume, right?" Ruka didn't have to look back to see Hotaru's slight nod.

"Sometimes I just feel—" She stopped, not sure that she wanted to let Ruka know what she was feeling.

"Insecure," he finished for her. "Like, you're thinking things about how if he and Mikan got together, she would be spending lesser and lesser time with you. And then you'll start to question yourself: And when that time comes, just exactly where will I stand then? Because you've been friends for god-knows how long-"

"Six years, actually." He heard Hotaru mutter, and he chuckled.

"-and the idea that you might actually be apart from each other is just too unnerving to think about." He finished. Ruka had said everything that Hotaru was feeling, and the latter was a little too taken aback.

"You aren't the only one feeling that way, Imai." He said, feeling nostalgic as memories of him and Natsume back when they were still in a normal school came flowing back to him. "You're talking to the best friend of the guy who is the one falling for your best friend." He heard a small chuckle from behind him. "And if I'm honest with myself, I'm feeling a little scared, too. Because Natsume's also spending a lot less time with me nowadays, too."

"Who knew you could be such a sap." Her dry remark made him laugh a little.

"You too." He returned.

Ruka heard the shuffling of feet and her voice became louder as she came nearer, "So I'm assuming Natsume ditched you to go to the Sakura tree too?" She laughed shortly, seeing the ironical joke in the sentence.

The 'too' confirmed his suspicions and he finally turned his head around to look at her. Ruka smirked.

"Yeah. As did Sakura-san did to you." There wasn't a need to add a 'right?' to the end of the sentence, because it was a statement and Hotaru knew it too.

He patted the spot next to him again, and said, "So how about it, Imai? Since we're both abandoned by our best friends, why don't you sit down with me and we'll cry together?" His tone was light and humorous but Hotaru didn't fail to notice the slight worry in it.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ruka. You know I don't cry." She rolled her eyes and he was taken aback by the usage of his first name. Catching the look in his surprised blue eyes, she added, "Call me Hotaru."

And despite how she'd made fun of his 'ridiculous' suggestion, Hotaru lay down on the rooftop beside him, and the two of them looked up into the sky, enjoying the silence as they admired the stars.

"Hotaru?" He definitely liked the way her name sounded when it rolled off his tongue.

"Hm?"

"Want to catch a movie with me this Saturday? It'll be my treat."

There was a pause, and then came Hotaru's voice, "Sure."

End.

Author's Note: How was it? Was Hotaru too OOC? I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions. Constructive criticisms are greatly welcomed. Thanks for reading this little one-shot of mine. :)