Hello! This is my second Gakuen Alice fanfiction, so please be gentle. Critism and reviews welcome, flames are not. Got that? Now down to the boring disclaimers.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice. If only I did. But I don't, so that's that.

Mikan's batch: 15 years old

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Chapter 1

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Kokoroyomi twirled his pencil around his fingers idly. He was bored. Occasionally he would pay attention to another's thought, just for the sake of amusement.

Oh man…this question is hard, someone moaned. What do you get if xxx is multiplies by y then subtract five from the answer then…

He drew away from the student's mind immediately. Math was something he did not want to hear. After listening dully to more totally uninteresting thoughts, he withdrew himself from their minds.

Nothing of interest today, he groaned inwardly. Time to add some spice into life. What about…trying the impossible? He chuckled evilly as he schemed his plan, his eyes focused on a certain Sakura Mikan.

"Psst. Hey Mikan!" he hissed, successfully capturing the attention of the brunette.

"Hi K-" she started to say loudly.

"Tome down a little! Everyone will hear you!" he said in alarm. Mikan looked around. Sure enough, half of the class was staring at her. She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Sorry Kokoroyomi-chan," she murmured apologetically.

"I have a piece of information for you," he said, grinning widely. It was all he could do not to laugh out loud. No, that would not do at all. The destroying of his ingenious plan would be the last thing he wanted.

Mikan's brown eyes grew wide in excitement. Any piece of juicy gossip is welcome to her ears. "Tell me!" she implored. Kokoroyomi snickered inwardly. Bait taken. Now to reel it in…

"Natsume likes Tangerines," he said slowly, emphasizing on the 'tangerines'.

"Natsume likes Tangerines?" Mikan repeated, scratching her head in confusion. "What does that have to do with me?"

The mind reading boy smacked his head in exasperation. Okay, baiting the densest person in the class is definitely hard. "He likes Tangerines," he said again. "As in really likes her." He used 'her' on purpose, hoping to make her understand.

"So he likes Tangerines," she said slowly.

Yes, yes. Go on.

"So I should invite him to Central Town to eat tangerines huh?"

Kokoroyomi nearly fell onto the floor. Luckily he managed to hold onto his table before he did. You baka Mikan…don't you realize that the 'tangerine' is you? Sigh, I guess not. You're too dense.

"Well…as you wish."

"Okay! Wait a moment," Mikan halted in curiosity. "Why did you tell me this?"

Maybe she's not as dense as I thought. I'll give it another shot.

"Because he likes her?" he suggested lamely.

"Oh well. As long as it can put a smile on his face." Her face brightened in anticipation. "Tangerines huh?"

"Yes, that's right. Go get them, he'll love it," Kokoroyomi said, grinning mischievously.

"I wonder what stall sells them," Mikan murmured. This time Kokoroyomi really fell off his chair.

I give up! Do as you wish! he wailed in defeat.

"Kokoroyomi-chan! Are you all right?" Mikan asked concernedly.

"Y-Yes," he groaned, using his table to pull himself back onto his chair, a little disheveled. "Go on, ask him. It's free time now, so it's safe."

"Okay!" She flashed him a huge smile. "Ja ne!"

Kokoroyomi returned the gesture then leaned back into his chair, a contented smirk on his face. This is going to be SO fun.

….

"Hey Natsume-kun! Come down for a moment please!" Mikan hollered sweetly from the base of the tree. Natsume grunted, a trifle annoyed. A moment later he was on his feet and in front of a very startled Mikan.

"What's up?"

"Do you like tangerines?" she asked innocently. His eyes narrowed. Why did she ask such a question? Unless…

"Yes, I do. What's that got to do with you?" he drawled, trying to keep his excitement in check. Was it really what he thought it was?

Mikan grabbed his wrist, making him blush. He hid his face beneath his bangs. "Come on then! Let's go to Central Town and eat tangerines there!"

Natsume's hopes dropped. Oh, it wasn't a subtle hint after all… For a moment he considered the idea of rejecting her offer. Then she'll feel the bitterness I felt earlier. No. He pushed the enticing thought away just as firmly. At least she was willing to spare her time to go with him.

"Okay."

The brunette was silent. She had almost expected him to refuse, knowing Natsume as well as she did. "R-Really?"

"Do you want to go, or do you want to gape at me forever?" Natsume sighed in boredom. Mikan was jerked out of her initial shock and tugged incessantly at his sleeve.

"Come on then!"

….

Natsume and Mikan strolled casually around Central Town, watching people mingle around. Or rather, Natsume was the one watching while Mikan searched high and low for a tangerine stall.

"I can't find any tangerines!" she screamed in frustration.

The fire caster beside her raised a brow. "You were searching for tangerines?"

"Of course! You like them, don't you?"

Natsume was silent for a moment. "Yes," he said slowly. "But consider what season it is now. It's autumn. Do you really think that there still are tangerines out in the market?" Except for one very dense Tangerine…he thought with a sweatdrop.

"Well…no. If you knew, why didn't you tell me?" she exploded.

To spend some time with you, was the true answer. Of course, Natsume would never admit it. So arrogant was he.

"Why?" Mikan pressed. Natsume sighed and stuck his hands into his pockets.

"Look, if you can't find tangerines, there are always other things to enjoy," he pointed out. Baka, he added silently to himself.

"You're right! Let's walk around some more!" Natsume groaned. More walking? He shook his head. I'll never understand girls. Ruka's right. They ARE the greatest mystery in the universe.

….

"Polka Dots, we have walked around Central Town four times already. Haven't you found something you like?" Natsume asked in exasperation. No answer. He turned around to see Mikan staring wishfully at the ice cream stall. He allowed the ends of his mouth to curve into a smile. Typical of her. Without hesitation, he pulled Mikan towards it.

"Wha..?" she asked in surprise. "Let go of me Natsume-kun!"

"You want to have some ice-cream, ne?"

"I…" a loud rumble from her stomach answered the question. "H-Hai," she said in embarrassment.

"Come on then."

"Konnichiwa! What do you want?" a cheerful woman said from the back of the stall.

"We want some ice cream, please," Mikan said politely.

"We?"

"Why? Don't you want some?"

"…."

"Pick a flavour please. The board is over there," the jolly street vendor pointed at a yellow board above her stall.

"Wow, there are so many flavours I don't know what to pick!" she chattered animatedly. Natsume rolled his eyes.

"Just pick one already."

"Well…I'll have the strawberry one then."

"Get her a double scoop," Natsume butted in. The vendor smiled knowingly and started to prepare the dish.

Mikan turned to look at him with large eyes. "Why double scoop?"

"You do want it, ne? I could cancel it," he suggested evilly. He chuckled inwardly at the longing and indignation in Mikan's eyes.

"Sumimasen, your ice cream is ready," the woman called, holding up a bowl in the shape of a boat. In it were two huge scoops of strawberry ice cream, glittering brightly under the sun. Two umbrellas were stuck into the middle of each scoop. The wind brought the tantalizing smell over to the two teenagers. Mikan sniffed it with pleasure, her mouth watering.

"How much is it?" Natsume asked, pulling out his wallet. Mikan pushed it back into his pocket, aghast.

"I ordered this, so I should pay for it!" she protested.

"How much is it?" he repeated, ignoring the girl. The woman chuckled.

"A hundred rabbits please."

Mikan gaped at her. "A-A hundred rabbits?" she whispered. "I can't afford such expensive ice-cream!"

"Here's one hundred rabbits," Natsume murmured, handing over the money to the vendor.

"Arigato, enjoy your meal," she quipped. "Ah, young lovers."

"What did you say?" he asked casually. The murderous look in his eye kept her silent.

"N-Nothing."

Natsume shrugged and pulled Mikan away, holding the ice cream in one hand. She followed obligingly, her eyes trained on the ice cream. Always crazy over food. It's a wonder she isn't fat by now, considering the amount she eats, Natsume thought.

They sat down thankfully under the comforting shade of an umbrella. Mikan dug into the ice cream eagerly, splaying a lot of it onto her and Natsume's face in the process. He tried his best to ignore it, but the last time was one time too many. He wiped the speck of ice cream in annoyance and confronted her.

"Enough of that Polka Dots!" he snarled. An ice cream smudged face looked up from the half-empty bowl of ice cream. "Gosh, you're a glutton."

"Am not!" Mikan sputtered indignantly. Some more ice cream flew onto Natsume's cheek, who brushed it off.

"Are," he said casually. The brunette stood up in anger. Unknown to her, the edge of her skirt was stuck onto the seat of the chair.

"Am not!"

"Yes you are and did you really want to show everyone your panties Polka Dots?" he drawled.

"Of course not!"

"Look around." Mikan obeyed grudgingly. Sure enough, people were ogling at something they saw. Some of them chuckled and whispered behind their hands. Majority of them didn't bother to do so and were insulting her openly. A toddler pointed a small finger at her.

"Mama, why is the girl wearing her skirt that way?" he asked innocently. His mother took one glance at Mikan before turning away, trying to suppress her giggles.

"Hush, don't say that out loud."

Puzzled, Mikan looked down at her skirt. It was still lodged firmly on her seat by a half-broken splinter of wood. She screamed in embarrassment and pulled her skirt away.

RRIP.

Her skirt tore at the hem, revealing more of her thighs. Mikan's face turned as red as a tomato.

"Wearing polka dots again I see," Natsume said sarcastically in amusement. Mikan growled and snapped.

"So did you enjoy the kiss Narumi sensei gave you five years ago?" she said in a carrying voice that sounded around the city. Now it was Natsume's turn to turn red. He hid his embarrassment under his bangs. Many of the onlookers snickered. They soon regretted it though.

Natsume's shoulders trembled. Immediately the temperature shot up to an intolerable level. People started to sweat profusely, growing uneasy save for two people, namely Natsume himself because of his fire alice and Mikan with the nullifying alice.

The brunette smiled in triumph, knowing that she had touched a nerve. The temperature continued to rise. After a while people started to creep away from the two unaffected teenagers in an attempt to get away from the heat. Some of them had passed out because of it.

Natsume and Mikan seemed to be locked in a glare, each daring the other to lower their gaze. Finally both looked away at the same time and stalked out in opposite directions. A fleet moment before removing his eyes from her, he swore that he saw tears swimming in those brown eyes…had he hurt her?

PPPP

Finally done. This sucks in my opinion. Tell me if I should continue.

Please review. It means so much to me.

Ja ne!