laimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice. I own this idea though!

Hi people! I've been gone for so long! Just so you know, I'm working on A Reason to Live (I feel so bad for leaving it hanging! It's still got a Christmas theme goin' on in April! I'm almost done) I've tried to make it wicked long to make up for the gap, but I'm not doing so good! Keep me going!

Just Another April Fools Joke?

"Heh heh heh…" Koko cackled as Kitsuneme whispered his grand master plan to him. It was brilliant! "Nice dude!"

"I know! It's wondrous, stupendous, magnificent, unbelievable, spectacular, amazing, astonishing, awesome, awe-inspiring…" He stopped and looked down at the finger to his lips. His eyebrows furrowed, he thought for Koko's benefit, 'Um? Koko, I'm not into that."

Koko shook his head, motioning behind himself. There, skipping down the hall with an annoyed Natsume walking by her side, was Mikan Sakura. They gulped simultaneously and dashed behind the bushes.

"Hey, hey, NATSUME! Listen, will ya? Gosh, you're so darn annoying."

"I wouldn't be talking if I were you little girl."

"Can we go to Central Town now?"

"No." His bored attitude radiated into the bushes and sent shivers up the two boys' spines.

"Please? I'll buy you a new manga just for coming!" He paused, considering it.

"Like you have enough money, Polka Dots, aren't you still just a one star?"

"No! I've been upgraded to 3-star, thankyouverymuch!"

"When did that happen?"

"2 years ago, Natsume-kun."

"Where was I?"

"Who knows?"

Kitsuneme and Koko rolled their eyes. It was so boring, listening to them! Granted, if the two had been able to see Mikan and Natsume, it might have been a lot more interesting. But, as it were, they couldn't. They knew that Natsume would never forgive them if they interfered with his alone time with Mikan. And Natsume was a person you never wanted to get on the bad side of.

Somehow, a fight started between the two love-birds. But then again, when didn't a fight happen? This was a good opportunity for them to slip away. So they did.

As they walked down the path to their rooms, they began planning their super cool trick. "Okay, so I'll get…and the…" Kitsuneme murmured.

"Yup! And I'll set up the… and the…" Koko said, and squirmed with joy. "This is going to be so fun! I love April Fools Day!"

"And what," a stoic voice piped up from behind, "is going to be so fun?" They recognized that voice! It was…

Hotaru Imai standing there with her Baka Gun Supreme!

They tried to swallow past the rock in their throats. "Um, nothing ma'am?" Koko tried, his voice quivering.

She aimed her gun at them, preparing. "Oh really? Then what is that piece of rolled up paper you have behind your back, Koko?"

"W-what paper? " He shouted, tearing it up and stuffing it down his throat. She smiled an evil little smile.

"No need to worry, boys. My newest invention will get that right out! It won't be too comfortable, but it'll work. Unless you just want to tell me…"

Kitsuneme pounded on his best friend's back, forcing him to release the (now wet) papers. At the sight of the invention, both boys nearly wet their pants. It was a piece of scrap metal, forged into many rows of tiny spikes. It swirled around and a pair of mechanical arms shot out, reaching towards them. As the screamed, Hotaru hit a button, making it stop in midair.

"Now," she said, walking casually over towards them, "do you two have anything you want to say to me?" And that is how Kitsuneme and Koko found themselves telling Hotaru their whole entire plan, leaving out no details.

When they were done, she smirked. "Interesting… Okay! Congratulations boys, you've got yourselves a partner. "

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Mikan hummed as she walked to the cafeteria that evening for Lunch. Today, she would get to eat her favorites! It was 'Alice Lunch Day'! The day when the Alice of Wishes would work with a Cooking Alice to make the students all their favorite dishes.

But when she arrived to eat, there was no big banner, no extremely happy faces, eager to eat their favorite meals. She frowned. What was going on? She walked slowly and unhappily to her table, where Natsume, Hotaru, Koko, and Kitsuneme now sat.

They all looked up as she fell gracelessly into her seat next to Natsume, across from Hotaru, sighing deeply.

"Oi," Natsume said, poking her side gently. "What's wrong with you, little girl?"

Her head had fallen down onto her chest, and she now blew out her bangs. She sniffed dramatically, "Oh nothing. Nothing at all!"

They all nodded and turned back to their ordinary meals. Now she cleared her throat loudly, taking their attention again. "What's wrong with you guys? Isn't it obvious that I'm upset? How could you just continue eating?"

"Like this." Hotaru said, spooning up some of her pea soup. She slurped it up and attacked the table's bowl of bread. Mikan just stared at her. After some time of chowing down, she noticed her best friend's gaze. "Want some?" she asked, holding up a loaf of French bread. Mikan shook her head in disgust.

Natsume looked at her again, "Idiot, what's wrong with you?"

She said nothing, just passed him the flyer she'd found outside. It read:

APRIL 1ST, 2009:

ALICE LUNCH DAY!

Enjoy as we team up the Wish Alices and the Cooking Alices to cook up what you love the most! No matter what your star ranking, you are guaranteed a good meal! From 12-2 PM, Alices only. Valid in Alice Academy Japan.

"So you thought you'd be getting all your favorites for lunch today? And now you're sad?" he asked. She nodded.

Koko and Kitsuneme cracked up, holding their sides to try and keep it in. Natsume and Mikan stared. "What's so funny?" Mikan asked in a tone that screamed danger.

"APRIL FOOLS!" they shouted in unison. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. Natsume slapped his forehead; he'd completely forgotten that it was April Fools Day! 'No wonder she got so excited,' he thought. 'Those jerks promised her all her favorites. I'm so sorry, Mikan. I'll do something! You'll see!' he promised.

Hotaru brought Mikan back to her room to take a nap; she'd had way too much excitement for one day. When she returned, Natsume confronted them.

"Why did you do that? You knew she'd be so happy about it, so why take it away from her?" he growled.

"Down kitty," Hotaru laughed. "It was just a prank. Mikan'll get over it."

"Well, it just makes me mad. So don't do it again."

"Maybe we will, maybe we won't." Now Koko and Kitsuneme were getting worried. This was all part of the plan, but Hotaru was taking it a bit too far.

"Imai…" he snarled, "Aren't you supposed to be her best friend?"

"Oh, I am. But what are you? Do you even have a purpose?" He looked down, hands curling into fists. He was silent. "That's what I thought. How about this? Mikan will still be upset for a while unless someone close to her brings her all her favorites for dinner. I was going to do it. But to calm you down, I'll let you have the honor."

"What's the catch?"

"There's no catch. I just want my best friend to be happy. And since being with you makes her happy, I guess I have no choice." Natsume's lips curled up slightly. He clapped her on the back.

"You're a good friend, Imai. But no pictures!" he shouted, running off to the kitchen.

"All going according to plan," Hotaru said, rubbing her hands together. "I can almost see the money pouring in!"

"But h-he said no p-pictures," Kitsuneme stuttered.

"He said nothing about videos."

"You're sneaky."

"Thanks. Now, you know what to do."

"Yes ma'am!" And they went their separate ways.

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The following invitation was sent to Mikan Sakura, just 30 minutes later:

Little Girl,

I know that you're probably still upset over those guys' prank. But settle down and meet me in the forest, in that little meadow at 8 o'clock. I have a surprise for you.

-Natsume

Mikan clutched the letter tightly in her hands. 'Natsume?' she thought, 'Natsume Hyuuga wants to meet me? No way, this must be another stupid prank… but still…' She looked to her clock. 7:05 PM. She cracked a smile. 'You never know! This could be the start of something beautiful!'

Giggling, she slowly got herself ready.

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Outside her room, a shadowy figure ran away with a slip of paper firmly in their grasp.

Little Girl,

I know that you're probably still upset over those guys' prank. But settle down and meet me at the Sakura Tree at 8 o'clock. I have a surprise for you.

-Natsume

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At 7:50 PM that night, two people set off with happy intentions. One, slinging a backpack over his shoulder, went to the Sakura Tree. The other, skipping happily, went to a small meadow in a big forest. At exactly 7:58, three more people left for the same meadow, holding a large box, contents unknown.

Many things were going to happen tonight. But were they good? Or too horrible to comprehend?

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Arriving at the meadow, Mikan looked around. "Natsume? Natsume, are you here?" Figuring that he was just running late, she shrugged and sat down on the stone bench. Sneaking up behind her, the mysterious three jumped out with a large pot.

A scream rang out through the forest. At the Sakura Tree, Natsume, recognizing the voice, jumped up and ran in her direction. He arrived, minutes later, to see Hotaru standing behind Koko and Kitsuneme, who were holding a pot over Mikan's head. He stopped instantly.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked slowly.

Hotaru smiled and stepped up. "Hello Natsume. It's nice to see you too."

"What are you doing, Imai?"

"Me? Nothing. That is, if you do what we want. You see this pot? It's filled to the brim with quite an interesting liquid. Trust me when I say that you don't want to know what it is. If you don't do as I say, I will have Koko and Kitsuneme here pour it over Mikan's head. Will you do as I dictate?"

"…You're not giving me much choice here Imai." He looked at Mikan, at her fear-filled eyes. He sighed, "Fine."

"You will?" she asked seriously.

"Yes."

"Good. Now, why don't you tell us how you really feel about our little Mikan here?"

Natsume's eyes widened incredulously, and, looking over at Mikan, he could see that she was feeling that same confusion. "Why?"

"That's why we're here! Now, talk."

He took a deep breath, "I used to think that she was just annoying. Her voice was enough to make me want to just walk away and never look back. But then, one day, it wasn't like that. I started to crave her company. I wanted to be around her, I wanted to make her laugh. For her to want to be around me, I felt like I had to change; to be better. And it was hard. But then she made me feel like I could be myself, and I lost my cold edge. She was the light from the dark cave I was stuck in." He looked over to her, and saw that her eyes had filled with tears. He continued, "She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. And I'm so glad that I came to the Academy now, if only that I could meet her. I love her."

The tears ran down Mikan's face. She made as if to run and hug him, but remembered the pot. She reached out trying to touch him, to feel that he was real. He smiled, and turned away; rubbing away the tears no one could ever see but her.

Hotaru smiled warmly. "Nicely done, Hyuuga-kun. I'm going to tell you something now. Remember the pot? Do you want to know what's in it?" He nodded. "We had Nonoko whip up a batch of True Feel Potion. As the name suggests, it makes you say how you really feel. I know I said that we wouldn't pour it all on her if you did as we said… but a little drop won't hurt, right? If we were to pour it all on her, the overload would kill her. But a little drop to see what she's thinking isn't that bad, is it?"

"Only if she's okay with it." Natsume demanded. He looked to her again, and she nodded.

"I'm fine. But I don't think I'll need it. You can put it down, guys." They obeyed and set it down carefully. She smiled and walked up to Natsume. "Hi."

"Hi."

"So, you love me, huh?"

"Yes."

"Well, what would you say if I told you the same?"

"You can't imagine how happy that would make me," he replied softly.

"I love you. I've loved you for I don't know how long! How old are we now? I've loved you since I've met you. No, I haven't. I've loved you ever since I really knew you. Not just knowing you're name, but when you trusted me with all of you, your past, your dreams, your hopes, that's when I fell in love. You're not what I ever imagined would be my perfect guy. You're so much more than that! I love you. I love you, Natsume Hyuuga!" And she leaned up and pressed her lips gently to his.

Koko felt a tug at his sleeve and, turning to look, saw Hotaru. She had little droplets of tears in her eyes. "C'mon, let's leave them. There's probably a lot for them to talk about. We don't want to the third-fourth-and-fifth wheels."

"But Hotaru-chan! I thought you were going to make millions with this! It's your dream!"

"It was. But now, I feel wrong. I have no right to be taking away their moments. If they want me to sell the videos I have now, I will. If not, I won't."

"Why are you crying?" Kitsuneme asked, "Are you that sad that you might not get so much money?"

"No guys. I just feel kind of lonely. Mikan's going to be busy with Hyuuga now, so she won't be with me as much." She closed her eyes and leaned against a tree, away from the meadow. "I don't know how to feel about it… Not that I'm not happy that they're together! I am… I am. I'm just lonely, like I already said." Her eyes flew open, "You two can NEVER tell anyone what I've said here! I'm not supposed to have emotions!"

"We won't tell!" they chirped in unison. And they walked back to school.

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When they got there, a limo pulled up outside. Two people stepped out, Narumi-sensei and a blonde guy. He was a Prince Charming! Hotaru remembered the drawings Mikan and herself had made all those years ago. He looked exactly like that! She blushed. But it wasn't just that! He looked… very familiar…

Narumi spotted them and ran over, dragging the new boy with him. "Hi guys! This is Ruka Nogi, a new student! Ruka-kun, meet Koko Yome, Kitsuneme Cat, and Hotaru Imai."

His head, which had been bowed, snapped up at the mention of her name. "Hotaru… Imai? From the Okinawa Kid's Kamp?"

"Yes… why? Oh! Ruka Nogi! That's where I knew you from!"

"Wait," Narumi interrupted, "I'm confused. What's going on?"

"We went to camp together when we were little kids. We were best friends! But then we got too old to go anymore and haven't seen each other for a year! I missed you." Ruka said, hugging her head. They went off together to reminisce. Who knows, maybe they got together too! =^-^=

The END!

Didja like it? Review and tell me! I felt bad for Hotaru, so I gave her a little loving! REVIEW! (I like reading them! You guys are just so sweet! =^-^=

BYE BYE! =D

~Wishing-chan!