I don't own any of the following characters, well… I don't own Mikan or Natsume despite how much I may want to. It's unfair!

[The Destined Pair]

He stared at her with his intense Crimson eyes; she had just jumped in front of him while Persona was just about to kill him, but why? He thought she was stupid, he always thought she was stupid, but seeing her hurt, especially by him. It infuriated him! Just the sight of Persona made him want to burn his entire body to a crisp. He detested him, but now he hated him even more. He ran to the girl lying on the floor, coughing up blood and her whole entire being bruised. It pained him to see her like this. He hated it!

"Mi…kan," he whispered, trying to get her to even glance up at him and give him her 'all too cheery' smile. She didn't stir. He raised a hand to her forehead and checked her temperature. She was burning up. He placed a hand on her cheek, trying to comfort the knocked out cold girl… but it seemed as though he was trying to comfort himself. He failed though, just seeing her in this state. He could still touch her, he could still feel her heat but Mikan just wasn't Mikan unless she smiled.

"Please… be okay," he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. He loved Mikan Sakura, he loved her so much he was willing to die for her, but it wasn't supposed to happen the other way around. "Mikan, please… wake up!" He was begging her. He wanted just to see her smile once more, just once.

Her pained eyes slowly opened and she placed a hand on his face, trying to comfort and sooth him. "It's okay Natsume, I'm fine. Run while you still have the chance. I'm dying, but you, you need to stay alive. Stay alive for me." He felt tears prick his eyes. Normally he wouldn't allow himself to cry, his so-called pride prevented him from doing so but this time, and he considered it an exception. Tears fell onto the girls hand, she smiled sadly at him and kissed the hand he held on her cheek.

"Don't die on me Mikan, please… don't die on me," a stone on her chest began to glow a bright silver light and was beautiful. She was taking the poison out of her body, but how? Natsume stared at her, watching the bruises slowly fade away and watched the life slowly creep back into her eyes. A small stone appeared in her hand, she was using that alice. The stealing alice, the one her mother owned. A small smile appeared on Natsume's face, just a small one though.

"Moron, Polka dot girl," he whispered as she slowly closed her eyes, exhausted with the sudden use of her newly discovered alice. He new that she would be okay, he glared at the Persona, the man who was now backing away with fear in his eyes. As if Natsume would let him get away! He lit a fire so big that it covered Persona's entire body, engulfing him with flames. That would be the end of him, he would no longer hunt down neither Natsume nor especially the girl he treasured more than anything, Mikan Sakura; the girl who possesses both the nullification alice and the stealing alice. She is the one he has to protect; she's now his sun in his dark and dangerous world and he is scared to let her go, even for a second as he'll be surrounded in that dark hell again.

--

He watched her as she slept, he couldn't believe she had just saved the both of the from the fate of dying. This 'little girl' he always likes to tease, though unknowingly to her it was because he loved her. Now, even though she was his partner and he had saved her life countless of times, this was no way near the relief he felt now. He laid the girl on his bed and he stroked her long soft hair, even though he would never admit it, he loved her hair down. Always had, especially when he saw her that one time during the play when he threw that apple at her, he despised seeing any other guy flirting with her; even his best friend. He chuckled softly to himself as he realized how stupid he was, that incident five years ago. My, how she had changed, she was no longer that mountain-less girl he once saw her as, but even though he called her that, he never once thought that her breast size was important, he just liked teasing her. Can you blame him? He thought it was fun, he liked seeing her get worked up about the slightest things. She was just too cute.

He watched her eyes slowly flutter open; he stared at her beautiful chocolate brown eyes. He found them absolutely gorgeous, that was the one thing he absolutely loved about her, her eyes.

"You've changed my life," he whispered a little above audible but not loud enough for Mikan to hear him. She quickly glanced up at him and smiled warmly.

"I told you I would be fine," she croaked, still not fully recovered from using her newly discovered alice. Natsume began to grow suspicious of this alice, an alice he could tell nobody about.

"Yeah, you did," he said softly, just loud enough so she could hear, "and thank god!" He then flashed back, the bare thought of Persona made him furious, he was so happy that that evil bastard was dead and that he caused it. But, Mikan's alice definitely worried him. What if it was the same type of Alice he had, the fourth kind? The life draining Alice, he could never accept the fact that she could be like him; he didn't want her life to drain away. But, then again, it could always just be the strain of recovering from the shock and from the strain of Persona's alice entering her body.

He softly stroked her hair, "I don't think you should tell anyone about your new alice" he whispered, Mikan looked up at him in pure confusion. She didn't remember? Of course she didn't! She was partially unconscious at the time. Natsume shook his head, "no it's nothing," he smiled and dropped the subject watching her fall asleep again. She really took a hard hit!

Natsume finally felt tired for the first time in the whole night, he gently shifted Mikan so he could sleep beside her and cuddled up to her, careful not to wake her up. He closed his eyes and felt himself fall into a deep and heavy sleep.

--

The next morning Natsume awoke to someone hugging him back, with her face pressed against his chest. She was shaking, her whole body was shaking. In a fit of panic he raised his hand to her head, quickly checking her temperature, she didn't have a fever or anything, he poked her on the cheek, trying to wake her up. It succeeded.

"Nat…sume," she whispered, fear echoed in her voice, "Natsume!" she cried as she pulled him closer to her and he raised a hand and gently placed it on her head, holding her tightly to him.

"What's wrong?" He whispered, stroking her hair, trying to sooth her, "nightmare?" Mikan nodded and a few tears fell down her cheek. "It's okay, it's okay," he said soothingly, he hated seeing her cry, he would admit that she didn't look her best when she cried, he preferred it when she had that big, goofy grin on her face.

He slowly got out of bed and picked up Mikan, "come on, you're going to have to get dressed sometime," he said, smirking, trying to get her back into her normal and care free mood. She groaned and tried to get back into the bed.

"If you don't get dressed, I'm going to have to change you," he grinned, now she'd probably call me a pervert. He watched her blush a bright red, but the "pervert" never came. Instead she tried pulling the covers up to her, failing epically. "That's it!" he pulled the blankets off her and started unbuttoning her pyjama's, the blush darkening on her cheeks.

"Natsume, you pervert!" She said, trying to push him off of her, she tried but failed. Her strength wasn't fully back.

"Good!" He grinned, "I thought I was going to see those mountain-less flats again." That did it! She glared at him and deliberately started changing in front of him.

"Oh really? Then it shouldn't make any difference if you see them now." She smirked. Natsume stared at her in shock, for one she smirked. Two, she was harassing him and three, she loved him, so it made it even more fun. He grabbed her wrists and smirked.

"Then let me take them off then," he smirked. She blushed, a bright red and fainted, panting for breath and beginning to get a fever. "Mikan?" he asked, starting to get scared. He picked her up, he knew exactly what was wrong with her, but what could he do about it? She began coughing –no, it wasn't a normal cough– and she was coughing up blood. Mikan, being Mikan, tried to stand up; she was trying to tell him, in her own way, that she was alright. He could clearly tell that she wasn't. He picked her up and in a panic ran to the hospital, he didn't care if he got in trouble, he just wanted her to be safe. Although, he knew that was impossible as her new alice drained away her life and not just others alices.

The nurses quickly began to treat her, and asked that Natsume would leave. He refused; he wasn't going to leave her, not even for a second. He held her hand and watched her pained sleeping face, now, not only the junior headmaster but organisation Z will want her too. He would have to get her out of there, thing is though… this time he couldn't leave her to run of on their own. He just didn't find it right, especially since she can't protect herself, He would only leave her to protect her! That's the only reason why he would ever leave her; he wouldn't have the guts to do so otherwise. Natsume tucked a strand of Mikan's hair behind her ear and whispered to her.

"Mikan… I…."

To Be Continued.

I feel so mean! But, anyway, yeah. You're going to have to wait till the new chapter before you can read this one. Lol.

It's no longer Christmas so, heheh! :D