Hello, readers!! Finally!! This is the last part of A Sweet Retaliation!

Anyway, I want to say thank you to Kuronekosan3, who alerted this story, and sanmae18, who made it a favorite story, for Her Gift part. And I also want to thank everybody who has read it. I'm happy!!

Okay. Enough babbling. Here you are, the last part of A Sweet Retaliation. Enjoy!!XD

His Gift: An Eternal Bond

So, what day was it again?

Oh, yeah.

Today was St. White.

The day where the boys who was given chocolates on Valentine's Day, retaliated the chocolates by giving some stuffs to the girls who gave them chocolates.

But our dear brunette never knew about this St. White. She was completely blind about this event.

And how about our great Black Cat?

"Darn!"

The single curse word came from a certain raven-haired boy who we had been looking for.

Yes. He was Natsume Hyuuga, the hero and protagonist in this story, alias Black Cat.

So, are you wondering why he suddenly cursed?

Well, it was such a good morning, where the bird chirped happily and the sun shone brightly in the sky. It should have been another perfect day for the residents of Alice Academy.

Except for one person.

"NAAATSUUUMEEEE!!"

That ears-piercing sound came from a bunch of fan girls who were chasing the crimson-eyed boy. They brought colorful boxes in their hands. Of course, those were gifts for him.

In the early morning, they had blocked his way to a certain brunette's room in his schedule to pick her up. Natsume, one the famous and hottest boys at Alice academy, had never expected this would happen on this nice, bright, and calm another day even though it's St. White.

The girl never chased him to give him gifts on the St. White's Day, for God's sake! This was the first!

And the worse, he just had missions the night before. Two missions in one night! He just came back that dawn and he was still tired from using his alice too much.

And because of this, he must run to avoid those fan girls because he couldn't use his fire alice to scare those girls away and he couldn't pick up his lovely brunette girlfriend, Mikan Sakura. He cursed the missions and fan girls for this. That's when he muttered, "Darn!"

As for our brunette, she just finished tying her long auburn hair into two pigtails on each side of her head when she heard shouts which were screaming for her boyfriend's name. She took her bag and approached her front door, thinking her boyfriend had come to pick her up.

But how upset she was when she went out from her room. The corridor was so quiet and there's no sign of her boyfriend there.

"…Maybe I just have an illusion. Maybe he hasn't come back from his mission," she muttered sadly and started walking to the classroom. 'I wonder if he's okay…' she thought worriedly.

Meanwhile, Ruka…

Ruka just came out from his room when he saw his best friend turn at a corner to his direction. He smiled and just wanted to greet him, "Good morning, Na-" But it was cut off when he saw what was coming next.

Yes. The fan girls.

And the bad part was…they saw him.

"RUUUKAAAA!!"

And with that, Ruka ran along with Natsume, side by side.

"Seems like you get into the same trouble," Natsume managed to say while running, loud enough for Ruka to hear.

"What's wrong with this year's St. White?!" Ruka complained as he looked at his raven-haired best friend. "I thought the girls just hunt us on Valentine's Day!!"

"Tch. How do I know?" Natsume replied in annoyance.

"How about Sakura?" Ruka asked as he remembered Natsume usually picked Mikan up before they went to the classroom.

"I encountered with these idiotic fan girls on the way. I can't risk picking her up while I can't use my alice. They'll stomp on her," Natsume answered in a low voice so the fan girls couldn't hear it.

"She's worried about you since last night, you know," Ruka told him, starting to pant lightly.

"Hn," was the only answer that escaped from the crimson-eyed boy lips.

-x-

"Good morning, everyone!" Mikan greeted with happy aura around her.

As she greeted the class, her hazel eyes spotted someone at the second row's seat.

"HOTARU!" she called her best friend as she approached her.

The aforementioned girl, Hotaru Imai, looked up and saw her noisy best friend approaching her. But she directly shifted her eyes back to her invention in the next second.

Mikan, who had finally stood in front of her, was wondering why her best friend didn't shoot her with the infamous Baka Gun today.

"Hotaru, why didn't you shoot me?" she asked innocently.

Hotaru looked at her. "You want me to shoot you?" she asked in a bored tone.

Mikan pouted. "No. I just wonder."

'It's because you didn't have the urge to hug me, idiot,' Hotaru thought. She fell silent for a second then asked, "You're worried about him, aren't you?"

Mikan raised an eyebrow. "Who?" she asked stupidly.

Hotaru took out her Baka Gun and aimed it to the brunette. "You want me to shoot you with this?"

Mikan sweat dropped then let out a sigh. "It looks like he hasn't come back…" she muttered.

Hotaru pulled back her Baka Gun while staring at the brunette. "He'll be fine," she convinced the brunette. "You've known him for seven years. He hasn't failed to do his missions."

"Mm. I know…" Mikan smiled a little. "Thank you, Hotaru."

Hotaru lifted her palm. "A hundred rabbits for that," she said with her expressionless face.

Mikan sweat dropped again. 'She's still asking for payment for this?!' she thought in disbelief.

-x-

"NATSUMEEE!! RUKAAA!!" those excited shouts came from the fan girls that ran at the school's field right now.

"Do you see them?"

"Where are they?"

"Maybe they ran to that direction."

Those were what they discussed after they lost the two boys' traces at the green field. They decided to go to a direction where they thought the two boys just ran into. They ran, passing a Sakura tree on their way.

Too bad for them, those two famous boys didn't run to the direction like what they were thinking. If only they had searched for a little longer, maybe they could find their targets sitting on a branch of the Sakura tree they just passed by.

"What a persistent fan girls…" Ruka murmured after those fan girls was out of their sights, leaving a bunch of dust behind them. He shifted his cerulean eyes to the raven-haired boy who was leaning on the tree trunk beside him. "Are you going to the class now?" he asked.

The raven-haired boy opened his eyes, staring at his best friend in front of him. "No. I'll just take a nap here," he replied lazily.

"Okay. I'll tell Sakura you're here," Ruka smiled at him.

"No need. She'll just disturb my sleep," Natsume said as he closed his eyes again.

Ruka just kept his smile on his face. "Fine then," he said as he jumped off the tree and ran to his classroom.

After his best friend jumped off from the tree, Natsume opened his eyes a little, staring to nowhere. "What a troubled St. White…" he muttered before he closed his eyes again.

-x-

Ruka opened the door to the classroom, only to be greeted by a certain cheery brunette. "Good morning, Ruka-pyon!"

"Ah, good morning, Sakura," he greeted back as he smiled.

Mikan looked at him. A finger was on her chin. "Why are you sweating, Ruka?" she asked as she tilted her head a little.

"It's because I was chased by the fan girls," he replied as he let out a tired sigh. "I wonder, what's wrong with this year's St. White…"

"It's because they want retaliation from you."

Ruka looked at the owner of the voice, which was the genius inventor, Hotaru Imai. She was fixing her invention. "Retaliation? But they must have known that Natsume and I won't retaliate whatever they give," he said.

The stoic raven-haired girl looked at him. "They never lose their hopes," she replied simply.

"But why must this year? Why not last year, two years ago-"

"Because Hyuuga finally has a girlfriend," she cut off his sentence.

Mikan blushed while Ruka arched one of his eyebrows in confusion. "So?" he asked.

"They planned to get your and Hyuuga's attention by giving both of you presents as many as they can than usual. So you better prepare for the April Fool, Easter Day, Nationality Day, Halloween Day-"

"Okay. I get it, Imai," Ruka said with a gloomy aura after he knew he would be in trouble on every event.

"Glad that you understand," she replied as she shifted her attention back to her invention.

"Um, Hotaru…What's the connection between I'm being Natsume's girlfriend and getting Natsume's attention?" Mikan asked; she didn't get the explanation before.

"They hope Hyuuga will choose one of them and break up with you. Satisfied?" the stoic inventor replied firmly without looking at her.

Mikan felt like being struck by the thunder. She froze for two minutes before she finally asked with teary eyes, "He…he'll break up with me?"

Hotaru looked at her. "I said 'they hope'," she emphasized 'they hope' words.

But Mikan didn't hear it. She was too drowning in her thoughts about Natsume would break up with her later. She walked limply to her seat at the back of the class with a gloomy aura around her.

"Sakura…" Ruka mumbled while looking at the brunette's movement.

"Idiot," Hotaru muttered as she sighed.

Ruka glanced at the raven-haired girl. "Don't you think you're too hard on her?" he asked.

Hotaru shifted her gaze to Ruka. "I just said what she wanted to know," she exclaimed while looking back at her invention.

Ruka stared at her for a while then he took out something from his pocket. He put it on Hotaru's table. Hotaru looked at the thing he just put down. It's a small purple package which was decorated with a blue ribbon on the top.

After he put the small package on the table, Ruka started to walk to his seat at the back of the class.

"Nogi."

The call made him turn his head back to the inventor who usually blackmailed him.

"You forgot this," she said as she pointed the small package on her table.

Ruka showed his angelic smile and said, "No. It's yours. Thanks for the chocolate."

Hotaru raised an eyebrow. "I never gave you chocolate," she said lazily.

He kept smiling. "It's okay. Just keep it." He turned back and proceeded his way to his seat. He knew exactly she was the one who gave him chocolate on the Valentine's Day and he also knew she wouldn't admit it, so he decided not to force her to admit it.

Hotaru stared at his back for a while then turned back to her invention. She glanced at the small package on the table and a little smile was formed on her face.

'So he knew after all,' she thought silently.

-x-

The class was over and it's lunchtime.

Mikan didn't feel like eating, so she decided to go out from the class quickly right after the bell rang, hiding herself from her friends. Of course this action made her friends curious and worried.

"Hotaru, have you seen Mikan?" Anna asked the blackmailer who just finished packing her things into her bag.

Hotaru looked at the cooking-alice girl and raised an eyebrow. "That idiot really meant what I said," she muttered and quickly walked out from the class. Ruka saw her walking out from the class and followed her.

Anna stared at the door, which the inventor just walked out from. "What's wrong with Hotaru and Mikan?" she asked to no one in wonder.

-x-

The brunette approached a certain Sakura tree, where the memories of her and a certain raven-haired boy were saved there. She sat on the grass and leaned her back on its trunk, trying to relax her body and mind.

'Hyuuga will choose one of them and break up with you.'

Those words kept on playing in her mind, making her felt more down and down.

She let out a sigh from her lips and murmured, "Is Hotaru right?"

"Oi."

Mikan looked to the right and left, but didn't find anyone near there. She tilted her head and put on a confused expression. "Was it just my illusion that I heard someone said 'oi'?" she talked to no one. "But why is that voice so familiar?"

"Up here, Polka-dots."

A vein popped on her head. "MY NAME'S MIKAN, PERVERT!!" she shouted as she looked up, knowing who just called her 'Polka-dots'. She found the owner of those crimson-eyes sitting on the tree branch, leaning his back on the trunk as he stared back at the brunette.

"As usual, your shout make my ears bleed, Polka." He smirked at her.

Mikan pouted, still staring at the raven-haired boy above her. It didn't last long until she spoke, "When did you come back?"

"3 am this morning," he answered in a bored tone.

"How are you feeling?" she asked again, worried.

"Fine," he replied simply.

"…Did I disturb your sleep?" she asked hesitantly, hearing his boyfriend just came back on 3 am that morning.

"Hn." He closed his eyes.

"Am I…that annoying?" She started to feel pessimistic.

"Hn," was all his reply.

Unknown to him, this answer made her feel down and sad. 'What's wrong with me? He always said I'm annoying before. But, why do I feel so hurt now?' she thought deeply.

After a quite long silence, Natsume started to get wondered. He opened his eyes and glanced at the brunette under the tree. She was still sitting there, but she's so quiet, which was so un-like her.

"Little girl?" he finally called her again.

Mikan looked up. "What?" she asked.

Natsume felt something about her that had bothered him the moment she grew quiet so suddenly. He decided to ask her privately. "Come up here," he told her.

Mikan raised an eyebrow, curious. She then stood up and dusted her skirt. She climbed up the trunk of the Sakura tree uneasily. When she almost reached the branch where Natsume was sitting all the time, the crimson-eyed boy stretched out his hand to her. She took it and he helped her going up to his side on the branch. He let her sat on his place before, which was beside the tree trunk.

"Something bothers you," he started.

Mikan looked at him and found out that he wasn't looking at her. Instead, he's staring at the ground with a serious face. She shifted her gaze to the ground too.

"Do you…hate me?" she asked, making him turn his attention to her.

"Why did you ask that?" he asked back, clearly confused with her sudden question.

"Do you regret having me as your girlfriend?" she said out another question as the sadness was clearly seen on her face.

"…I hate you," he finally answered, making the brunette freeze on her place. She could feel her heart breaking into pieces after she heard his answer. She bit her lower lip, trying to hold back the tears which had threatened to spill out from her hazel eyes. "…at first," he added.

The last sentence he said surprised her a little. She kept silent as she waited for him to continue.

"When you first came to the academy, I saw you as a stupid, idiot, clumsy little girl with childish printed underwear and annoying behavior," he continued, "and I thought you're just the same with those annoying fan girls that keep on bugging me everyday."

"…Stupid is the same meaning with idiot, stupid," Mikan commented as her bangs covered her eyes.

"It means you're a super stupid little girl," he teased her, smirking.

Mikan glared at him. "Get serious," she muttered dangerously, but it didn't wipe off the teasing smirk from his face.

"You're really a stupid girl and very persistent. Even though I've told you not going near to the darkness you shouldn't see," he said, "…you keep staying by my side…until now…"

The brunette stared at the raven-haired boy who was drowning in his own thoughts. "So…do you hate me?" she asked once again.

He glanced at her as a smirk appeared on his face once again. "Sometimes. Your annoying voice always disturbs me," he replied. "…And you always make me worried, stupid."

Mikan formed a small pout on her lips. "You're the one who always makes me worried, pervert!" she retorted.

Natsume raised an eyebrow. "Look who's talking. You're the one who always gets into troubles, Polka," he retorted back. Mikan was speechless.

Okay. She always got into troubles, but hey! She's the heroine of Gakuen Alice story! It's not strange if she always got into troubles even though it's a dangerous one.

"So you regret having me as your girlfriend now?" she asked in a sarcastic tone. Natsume just stared at her as she continued, "Must be like that. Those fan girls care about you and always give you many presents. And they…they…"

"They what?"

"They never hit you like I always do or say some bad things about you. They treat you like their king," she ended in annoyance.

"And why do you think I regret?" he asked. A teasing tone could be heard in his voice.

"Because I'm not cute at all. I'm stupid, clumsy, and annoying," she muttered irritatingly.

"Yeah. It's the truth," Natsume agreed. "But that hasn't answered my question."

Silence engulfed them. Only the sound of shuffling leaves could be heard in the eerie silence.

"…I'm leaving now," Mikan broke the silence as she started to move a little from her place.

Natsume held her hand which was resting on the branch. "You haven't answered my question, Polka," he reminded her. His face got serious.

Mikan didn't look at him but she stayed on her place. "You'll choose one of the fan girls and break up with me, right? Go ahead. I won't stop you," she said as the tears started to well up in the corner of her eyes.

Natsume bent his eyebrows. "Who said that?" he asked in a deep voice.

"…Some theories…" she murmured, but it was clear enough for him to hear.

"Tch. You believe in those theories?" he said, annoyed.

"But I think it's true. I don't know what you have seen in me, but there are still many girls who are more perfect than me!" she said a little loud, starting to get pissed off.

"Yeah. That's right," Natsume replied, didn't care nor look at her.

Mikan didn't know why, but she could feel anger taking over her body. "Fine! We're done!" she stated as she moved again.

Before she could move further, a pair of firm hands trapped her on the branch, pinning her to the tree trunk. Her back rested on the trunk while her hazel eyes met with the crimson one which had darker shade than usual.

"What? Let me go! Now!" she commanded, irritated. "We're done here!"

"Who said I agree?" he asked. There was anger in his tone.

"I've decided!" she retorted.

"I didn't say I agree!" he snapped.

Mikan looked away. She couldn't stand those crimson orbs that were looking straight at her now. "Just…let me go…" she said weakly.

"Tch. Why do you always act like a stupid one?" Natsume got annoyed. "It's just some theories, little girl!"

Mikan glared at him. "Geez! Fine! I'm stupid! I'm clumsy! I'm annoying! I'm persistent! And I believe there are still many things I haven't described!" She suddenly got furious. "And you know what? I don't want you to hate me or regret having me as your girlfriend because I care about you! And here you are! Teasing me for believing in those theories! I don't know why I fell for you in the first place! I don't know why I love you, Natsume-"

"I think I heard someone called Natsume's name from here." A girl suddenly popped out in the scene. Then other girls started to show up as well. Probably fan girls…

"Where? Where?"

"There's nothing here."

"Maybe you're just hallucinating."

"Maybe…Then we continue our search. How about that way?"

"Fine. Let's go."

And with that, the fan girls ran to the direction of the elementary school building.

Unknown to them, the person they had been searching for was on the branch with his girlfriend. But Mikan had her eyes wide opened.

Why?

It was because Natsume stopped her uncontrollably babbling by kissing her. Well, it's not too gently because she got her head hit on the trunk when he suddenly kissed her.

Mikan tried to push him and break the kiss, but to no avail. It's just like when Natsume kissed her when they were ten year old on the same branch at the same Sakura tree.

But this feeling wasn't the same feeling she had when she was ten year old. She felt hurt.

She kept on pushing him until he finally broke the kiss, almost breathless.

"Why did you do that?" she snapped angrily.

"To silence your annoying voice," he replied irritatingly.

"Now you start-"

"I like your smile," he cut off her sentence, making her speechless with those simple words. "Because those positive thinking of yours always encourage me, telling me not to lose hope, that someday I'll be free from this darkness I've been stayed in for years, from this academy."

Mikan was dumbfounded at his words. She stared at him. His eyes were hidden by his raven bangs. His hands were still on the trunk. Both on each side of her, trapping her there.

"Natsume…" was all she could mutter that time.

Natsume lifted his head, showing his crimson eyes which the color had returned to normal. "So, until that day come…" he said as he lifted her left hand slowly, showing a small silver ring on her ring finger. The ring had a small diamond that fit perfectly on the center of the ring.

Mikan grew quiet as she looked at the silver ring on her left hand. 'When did he put that on?' she thought, confused. 'Is it when he kissed me?'

"Until that day come," Natsume continued, "I entrust this ring on your left hand."

"Is this…an engagement ring?" Mikan asked, between shocked and unsure.

"Tch. Isn't that obvious?" he replied as he looked away. A small blush crept on his cheeks.

Mikan looked at his left hand, which had rested on the branch at that time. A same small silver ring was also attached on his ring finger. Only, it had no diamond on it. Her lips curved into a smile as she lifted his left hand and put it together with her left hand. Natsume just stared at her.

"Then, one day, this ring will move to the right hand, ne? Natsume?" she asked as she smiled sweetly at him.

Natsume smirked. "Who knows? I might change my mind," he said jokingly.

Mikan pouted. "Natsume, so you're not serious," she said, upset.

His smirk then turned into a small smile as he leaned towards her. "I'm serious. I always am," he said before he kissed her on the lips once again. This time, it's sweeter and gentler as they sealed the silent promise as an eternal bond between them.

From far away, a certain inventor, alias Blackmailer Queen, alias Ice Queen, checked on them with her 'super-seeing binocular', which could see any object within 30 kilometers range. Beside her, the animal prince patted his rabbit as he asked, "How are they?'

"It looks like they are just fine," she said without emotion as she inserted the binocular back in her bag. "No need to worry."

They walked away from their spot to the cafeteria.

"So, do you like my gift?" Ruka asked as he smiled.

Hotaru looked at him. "I haven't seen it, dummy," she said coldly.

Ruka chuckled. "Oh, yeah. Of course." And they proceeded their way to the cafeteria.

Unknown to him, a small bracelet with a purple gem was resting qround her right wrist under her long uniform sleeve.

That was the gift that Ruka had given her before. Hotaru just smiled a little at herself, for the owner of those cerulean eyes didn't realize about it.

--End of St. White's session--

Okay. So that's the end of the St. White's session. Hope you like it!!

If you don't mind, please review. Just want to know what your comments are and want to know if you like me to make another sequel again, 'kay?

At last, thanks for reading. See you in the other stories!!XD