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Disclaimer: If I own GA, Ruka would date Mikan. But because he didn’t, you can assume I
don’t own it.

Dedicated to: sakuraheartz-nee **thanks a bunch for everything!!! Gyaaaa!!!**

Sweetsarcastic, for kindly beta-ing this story 

"Lookie here, Ruka, we must do this, or we will be drowned in our desperate thoughts of not
being able to get a real kiss at the age of seventeen."

"But... but..." he stuttered. "This seems so primitive. Why strangers, anyway?"

"Because it's challenging," I remarked without thinking, but the answer I gave was actually
rational enough.

Yeah right, we were going to kiss some strangers (of course the hot ones). We were
currently on a train station, the clock’s arrows pointing at four in the afternoon, and we still
had our school's bags on our backs. We changed our uniform's top for a t-shirt which had
bad words writtenon it, but we kept our uniform's trousers on. Now, not everyone could tell
where we went to school, and we tried our best to keep it that way, because it would be
troublesome if people acted differently towards us--colder and more obsequious. Alice
Academy had some reputations outside.

We were in our late seventeen’s, and we had not had a real kiss. True, we had kissed girls,
but it had all happened because of force. Ruka had it during a school play, and I had it when
a maniac fan girl threw her arms around my neck and suddenly planted a disgusting wet
kiss. Gross. We both were innocent victims, so we planned a revenge on innocent girls too.
We would kiss them full on the lips and leave them dazzled with drools on the corner of their
mouth. We were handsome after all, so I was sure they would not mind.

"Let's pick up the lucky girl," I said, and we chose our target at the same time.

And unfortunately--or fortunately for her, we pointed at the same girl.

"Don't copy my taste, Ruka," I growled at him, and Ruka rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you select another girl?" he snapped back.

"Fine," I responded, but when my eyes had searched every corner of the place, I found
nothing as interesting as the brunette.
"Well?" Ruka demanded, and I raised my hand, signaling that I could not find any girl.

The sound of a coming train engulfed us, and I said, "We kiss her, but on different days,” I
decided finally. Ruka agreed with that, but his face was still full of guilt. To reduce it, I added,
"The girl won't mind. Just think how lucky she is. It's such a rare and lovely incident, eh, if
two good looking men kiss her?"

Ruka laughed. "This is just a game," he spoke, and I smirked.

"Yeah, a game,"

"Oh, I'm sorry," a weak reflex response escaped from her lips, even though Ruka was the
one who ran into her on the first place. Her books fell on to the station's ground, and she
bent down to pick them up. Ruka followed her, and he deliberately made his hand touch
hers; making her produce a soft gasp and she looked up to meet Ruka's face. She smiled
apologetically and when she opened her mouth to say something (maybe thanks or sorry),
Ruka kissed her.

The girl definitely didn’t have good reflexes because she did nothing when he kissed her, not
even tried to push him off, but just let her hands drop to her sides and her books hit the floor
again. Or was it because Ruka was a good kisser that she did not struggle?

Before I could think of another reason, the brunette had shot her arms right onto Ruka's
stomach and shoved him roughly, making him step back and flinch. He spun and ran away,
and did not peer over his shoulder to check the girl. I closed my mouth and dug my nails
onto my waist to hold my laugh. It was so funny. Their face was worth something. When
Ruka made his way to me, we both scrammed with our bags jumping on our backs. I burst
out laughing at his reddened face, and a smile crept up on his face a little while later.

"What did it feel like?" I asked, panting hard with a palm on my stomach. We were not far
away from the train station, but had run fast enough for the girl not to chase after us.

He looked around as if the girl was still there. "Vanilla latte," he replied, and I quirked an
eyebrow.

"Vanilla latte? Is there any lip gloss with that flavor?"

"And orange. Or lemon. I'm not sure, but it was kinda bittersweet."

I grinned impishly. "You like it."

"I guess I do."

"Can't wait for my turn,"

-
The next afternoon, Tuesday, we couldn't find the girl. And the next day after Tuesday. And
the day after. On Friday, Ruka was sick, and I did not have any intention of searching for the
brown-haired woman. There was no point in kissing her if he was not around, because if
Ruka did not believe I had kissed her, I would have to kiss the girl twice to prove it. It was
inefficient, and I was an expeditious man.

I stepped onto the train and sat on the only seat on the left. I turned on my iPod (I have no
one to talk to, right?) and looked out of the train's door, hoping no more people entered in
the next three minutes. I hated whoop-de-doo, and I was thankful to have a seat. If I stood
up in a crowded train girls usually threw themselves into me, literally. I blinked my eyes thrice
because I thought I was seeing the face of the Vanilla Girl (Ruka and I finally decided to call
her that), and I was not sure because her hair was somewhat blond. Slanting my eyes to
gain more focus, my body stiffened because Vanilla Girl imitation was walking in my
direction. Getting a closer look at her, she was indeed the Vanilla Girl.

Holy, holy shit.

Did she recognize me as Ruka’s friend? Would she slap me on the cheek?

Suddenly she stopped in the middle of the way and reached for a hold. She did not glance at
me even a bit. I sighed in relief and stared at her. The train moved.

She was kinda cute. Her hair was changing from light brown to blond due to the sunlight,
and it was tied in a mess of low pigtails. Her bangs reached her eyes and she blew it up
childishly. She wore a public school sailor uniform (tight and short skirt, I smirked at that),
with a school badge ‘Osaka High School'. She was petite and -ahem- curvy.

"Excuse me," she suddenly said, her head turned towards me, "Would you please stop
staring? My body absolutely belongs to me, and I need it back."

Plus a point: she had funny glares too.

"Pervert," I heard her mumbling and she looked away. I could not help but snicker, and as if
she had eyes behind her head, she spun ninety degrees and scowled. I chuckled and
teased her by giving her a judging look--observing her from the tip of her hair to her toes--
and waved my hands lazily as if to say she was not worth my observation. She gasped and
made a face (maybe it was supposed to be scary, but I found it entertaining, though), and
nearly would have killed me if she had not reached her destination. Mouthing 'watch your
butt', she stomped out of the train.

Monday. A week right after Ruka's kissing scene and two days after my commotion with her.
I was so ready to 'fight' her, but Ruka was not. He was freaked out and kept chanting not to
meet her anymore. Thus, when I was ready to sit on the bench to search for the girl, he
pulled me onto the train. I sighed--now he was pathetic. The train moved.
"Ruka, she's a girl, and this particular one you're afraid of is a weak one. She won't bite, the
worst maybe is--hey, watcha doin?"

He was covering his face with his biology book, but it was upside down. He looked like an
idiot. I turned my head to my right and saw that the boy who sat beside me had stood up to
give his seat to that girl. A smirk crawled onto my face--this was going to be interesting. I
was wondering whether she recognized me or not when she said without looking at me,
"Stop undressing me with your eyes, pervert."

My smirk grew even wider.

"And told your friend he looks stupid."

I laughed inwardly and nudged Ruka. He stayed still, so I whispered, "She said you look
stupid. I couldn’t agree more, since you’re reading your book with an alien's style."

Ruka gasped and rotated the book in a fast movement, but the Vanilla Girl caught him.

"You!" she hissed, "Great! I meet a real partner in crime, literally! A pervert and a kissing-
monster, now what?"

Some people listened intently to our conversation.

"Uhm... I'm so sorry miss... miss...."

"I won't tell my name to a criminal like you!"

"It's not all my fault!" Ruka cried.

"So? Whose fault was that? Me? You moron," she pointed to Ruka, "and you jerk," she
pointed to me. She shook her head. "I am amazed of how I can stand sitting beside a pervert
and his crony..."

"You value the kiss," I stated.

"It's just a kiss," she grunted. "I don't mind it even a bit, BUT," she emphasized the word 'but'
and suddenly launched herself at Ruka across my lap, but I stopped her.

"You said it was just a kiss!" Ruka said in fear, and she struggled in my grasp.

"You forgot the word ‘but’! I mind the bacteria-sharing, molester!” (A.N.: no offense.)

Oh my God. This girl was incredible. I laughed and the girl stared at me incredulously, then
she started sneezing.

"Hey, what perfume do you use?" She asked in a worried tone, struggling harder as if I was
the cause of her sudden sneezes.
"XXX." I released her, and she rummaged her bag with one hand, and the other covered her
nose. She did not breathe.

"I am allergic to that brand," she cried, finding a pack of tissue and now covering her nose
with it. Her voice vibrated under the thin layer. "You know, YYY is one of the few perfumes I
am immune to. Use the old-lemon with touch of wine or rain and rosewood fragrance, that's
the best of all."

"What is the point in telling us that?"

She scowled at me, and I was sure she stuck out her lower lip under the tissue. "So that I
can approach you and give you a good smack," she replied and stood up. Surely she
wanted to stay away from us (us, because Ruka and I used the same brand), but the train
braked abruptly to stop in the next station, and she fell.

Right on my lap her hips placed, and her upper body landed on Ruka's. She groaned. When
she sneezed, she realized where she had landed, and she got to her feet in the next second.
Without saying thanks, she ran away. I turned my head to Ruka--and found he was like
swooning after her.

"She’s small," he muttered after I waved my palm in front of his eyes to catch his attention,
"Her shoulder is fragile, weak, and she’s cute too."

"I thought you were afraid of her,"

"Not anymore."

--

We bought the perfume she loved. Neither of us wanted to admit she had influenced us. I
was surprised the scent existed--how on earth did those beauticians, no, it must be
scientists, make 'rain' scent?

Anyway, the scent smelled good. Boys in my classes asked me what brand it was, and we
told them it was XXX brand, the one Vanilla Girl was allergic to. We did it just in case if
'something' happened, and later on, that 'something' came true.

--

Friday. We spotted her talking to a raven-haired girl with violet eyes, and a dirty-blonde boy.
Let's say the raven-haired girl’s name was Amethyst, and the blonde boy was Four-Eyed.
Amethyst held a baseball bat, swinging it carelessly, as if she was ready to strike someone
with that. Four-Eyed rubbed Amethyst's back. Vanilla looked around, searching for someone.

Ruka and I skulked to hide on the bench behind them, so that we could listen to what they
were talking about. Luckily, they didn't notice us.

"Idiot. If you knew their name, it wouldn't be this hard to get revenge. Of course I don't mind
hitting them with this bat, I need exercise, actually, but you know sport just isn't my subject."
A monotonous tone that belonged absolutely to a girl, not Vanilla's though, so it should be
Amethyst, retorted.

"Hotaru's right. Violence is not needed. It's not that I agree with perverted things, they must
be punished, but I prefer blackmail more." This time a softer voice, a boy’s. That should
belong to Four-Eyed.

"OK, OK! I said I'm sorry, right? Besides, why should I ask their name?” Vanilla remarked,
and I recognized her voice.

"Because you didn't think far. If I were you, their names would be the first thing I would find
out."

Silence.

"We’re leaving. Iinchou, bring the bat."

"Wait, wait! I don’t have my revenge! How could I do it without you, Hotaruu!!! I'm allergic to
their perfume! I can't stand them!"

"Dummy, we waited here for an hour, and yet they haven't arrived. It might be that they won't
come at all. There's no reason for us to stay here."

"But--"

"Next time you meet them, ask them their names."

The conversation stopped right there. We sat silently behind the chair, waiting for a good
chance to come out of hiding. It was obvious that Vanilla called her friends to punch us
instead of her, and Hotaru (that was the raven-haired freak’s name, right?) helped her by
bringing a bat, to hit us with, I was sure. What a scary girl to be friends with.

My best friend and I turned around and sat on our knees to see the condition, and we
couldn’t see Vanilla anywhere. Suddenly I felt a small fist smack me on my head, Ruka
yelped a small 'ouch'. We twirled around just to find her blowing her reddened knuckles. It
seemed she was more in pain than we were--it wasn't that her smack was painful, and I
pitied her for hurting herself in the end.

When she realized that we were aware of her, she spun around and attempted to run. The
escape failed, though, because I had captured her in my arms. She didn't scream, and I
realized she was holding her breath.

"Hey, why aren't you breathing?” Ruka asked, as his eyebrows met in worry.

I tilted down and saw her flushed face. She took a small breath through her mouth then. It
looked like she was afraid of getting an allergy.

"We changed our perfume," I said, and she rolled her eyes.
"Lemme-go," she said curtly, breathing via her mouth.

"Well, I won't release you until you believe us. Right, Ruka?" I stated, and Ruka grinned.

"By the way, I'm Ruka, and he is Natsume."

She glared at us, and Ruka and I laughed.

"Hey, you two really changed your brand," she said, blinking her eyes. Oh, so finally she
gave in and breathed.

"We did," I said, and Ruka quickly added, "For you."

She rolled her big eyes. "Well, my name is Orange, and I command you to let go of me."

Tch. I thought I was too comfortable with this pose...

"Orange? Your name is in English?” Ruka asked. I released her.

She was thinking before replying, "Literally, my name is Orange." She held out her hand, and
Ruka shook it in ease. I shook her hand too, raising an eyebrow. "This means truce, Mr.
Lens-Eyed," she chirped.

"Lens-Eyed? This is my natural color!"

"As far as I know, one would have red iris’ if he had no pigment. Your hair is black, it means
you do have pigments, and your eye color should be brown or black. And vice versa."

Okay, that was the beginning of our friendship. We would meet every Friday and Monday,
chatting about anything (Ruka and Orange dominated the conversation, I just added 'you
stupid, idiot' and so on). Sometimes we stayed in a comfortable silence. We enjoyed each
other’s company, although none of us admitted it. We waited for her if she hadn't come, and
she waited for us if we hadn't come. Ruka and I protected her from mad boys, and she
pretended to be a girlfriend if one of us really needed to get rid of fans. However, she didn't
want this relationship to move on to a more intimate one.

"No, don't tell me your address or school or your personal identity."

"Why?"

"Because I won't feel the chemistry. The mystery, that's what makes us interested in each
other and can go this far. Usually, I don't talk to strangers."

I was disappointed. My best friend was, too. He was all sad and glum when she said that,
while I simply hn-ed. We wanted to search for her personal information on her school
database (we knew her school because of her uniform while she didn't know our school), but
we needed a password. We explored more through the internet, but none of the girls named
Orange looked like her. She was hard, and I liked it. Very much. The worst of all, Ruka did
too. I had a prediction that we would fight for this particular girl, and I hoped it wouldn't
happen.

Everything was going slow and great, until she told us she couldn't meet us anymore.

"I’m going to another school, and I’m moving, too." she said one day and we froze.

No one spoke for the next ten minutes, and when I thought she would cry, she laughed out
loud.

"Why the sad faces?" she chuckled. "One day we will meet again. I'm sure about that."

"Can you at least give us your phone number or your new school?" Ruka asked desperately.

She laughed, but I heard it as a camouflage of crying.

"I can't," she said. "If I tell you, when we have to be apart again like this, it will be far more
harder than this. This is the real reason why I don't want to be closer than-hey, don't be
looked so offended! If we share more than we usually do, when we separate, it will be so
difficult.”

She held our hands on the way; I was on her right, Ruka on her left. We kept quiet, and I
breathed in her scent deeply and memorized it on my brain, saving it as one of my 'worth-to-
be-remembered' moments. Fresh tea tree, humid beach air, and something sweet, I don't
know what was that, but she really smelled good. I didn't want this last, and I hadn't kissed
her yet. I lost to Ruka.

Therefore, when she stepped out from the train and turned around to wave goodbye, I also
got out and then kissed her senselessly. I knew I was in the way, but I couldn’t care less. I
felt Ruka grabbing the back of my jacket to signal something--I didn’t really understand it, but
I was sure it was somewhat along 'let her get on with her life, you take too much oxygen'. I
was in the train again right before the door slid close.

She was angry, cursing loudly, but I couldn't hear it. She showed her funny glares again, and
instead of waving, she swung her fist. Maybe she would smack me, and that thought made
me wanted to yell in frustration and burst out laughing at the same time.

"Vanilla?” Ruka suddenly asked.

A corner of my mouth curved up. "Strawberry latte. Bittersweet."

He nodded. "Bittersweet."

Monday. Unlike the usual Monday, when we still met Orange, we felt no excitement. Ruka
and I were in a bad mood, and everyone was smart enough to move out of our way, except
our homeroom teacher. He kept bugging us to not skip his class just that one time, because
he wanted to keep a good impression on a new student, who was an important person. As if
we cared, but since he said he would kiss one of us if we didn’t, we had to agree.

"My name is Mikan Sakura," the new student introduced herself, and I didn't bother to steer
my gaze away from my manga. Mikan. Hah, it reminded me of Orange. This Sakura's voice
was kinda like hers too, but it was just a coincidence, right?

"You may sit beside Mochu, Mikan-chan. Mochu, raise your hand!"

Small taps. Sound of gritted chair, and a small sweet thank you, then a sneeze.

"Oh my... What perfume do you use?"

Sound of someone rummaging his/her bag. Sneeze again.

"XXX?” Mochu answered unsurely.

"I'm allergic to that brand!"

I smirked. I closed my eyes, and didn't dare to open it. If it was her, it was just too good to be
true. Maybe Fortune was on my side today.

"Okay, Koko, then," Narumi suggested. "Koko, raise your hand!"

"Mr. Narumi, well, um... actually I use XXX brand, too."

Yes. Of course Koko did.

"Oh, Anna then. Anna--?"

Crap. Girls didn't use boy's perfume.

Sneeze.

Laughs. A genuine laugh I wanted to hear.

"Ruka! Is Natsume here, too?"

I looked up and opened my eyes, blinking to adjust to the light, and saw Ruka hugging her.
She was laughing madly in his embrace, Ruka laughed too, and when they saw me looking
at them, their laughs went even madder. I chuckled and my classmates looked at me in
surprise, I was always composed before.

I didn't believe in fate, but if this was fate's work, maybe I would change my mind.

"She sits with us, Narumi-sensei," Ruka asked, his eyes gazing constantly at her in
admiration. "Look, she's immune to us."

Narumi wow-ed in amusement because of our reaction to the new girl.

"She will sit with Anna. Besides, a desk consists of two pupils, not three."

I grabbed a nearest vacant chair and dragged it to our desk.

"Three." I stated.

Narumi guffawed. "Natsume, I'm the teacher and I'm the one who decides things!"

"Actually, I am the headmaster's son," I lied confidently. People gasped. "And I can fire you
anytime, Gay. She sits here."

Narumi ooh-ed in delight. "Oh Natsume-kun, I’m sorry that I thought you're Mikan-chan's
boyfriend before. You're blood related to her, so it couldn't be."

"Hi cousin," Mikan waved.

Crap. I was humiliating myself. I coughed.

So she was the principal's niece, huh? Alert, alert. There would be a long way to interest the
principal.

"Whatever, Orangee sits with us," I commanded, making my way towards her and yanked
her from Ruka. Ruka slanted his eyes. Aww-s were heard from Koko and his twin, and I
glared at him. Was my affection so obvious?

Once we reached the seats, and I was going to make her sit on my left so I could have her
for my own (I'm in the middle). Ruka caught her on her waist and placed her on the middle
seat.

"Don't monopolize Orangee," he said in sharp intake.

I glowered at him and he glowered back, until she smacked me on the head.

"Ouch," she whined. "You're making scenes. Moreover, Natsume, you deserve the smack.
Remember your kiss? Asshole."

Ruka and I grinned--an expression we usually didn't do in public--and we both said on the
same time, "Truce. For now."

She was oblivious to what those words really meant, surely. And she sat in the middle. The
class settled down and back to the usual, Narumi taught and students learned, but we didn’t.
She wanted to focus on the lesson, but we didn't let her.

"We’ll hear a very long explanation, right Natsume?" Ruka uttered, a smile playing on his
lips.

"Yeah. Right Orangee?" I agreed, making holes on her face.

She pouted. "Listen. Mikan means Orange, right? I'm not lying! Besides, you two are
perverts! You--"

Three could play this game (even though I preferred two). Huh, whatever. I wouldn't lose.
Why? Because I just wouldn’t.

FIN

Screaming early happy birthday to me!!! Ya-ha!!! About the XXX and YYY perfume, it’s
because I don’t have any idea about brands. x))

By the way, constructive criticism, suggestions, and corrections are welcomed :D

Review, please? For my birthday?

A.N. added April 24, 2009: Today is my birthday, and I just realized that my birthday is
the same as Len Tsukimori from La Corda d’Oro! Wooow~ Never thought there would
be a manga character which had the same birthday as I am xD

-fitha-