Something was wrong with that oak tree, and I'm pretty positive about it. I gripped harder on the school newspaper I was holding onto. Yet another victim under the oak tree! It said.

Two cases, and they were freaking similar. God knows what those two people were doing there at that time. Making out? Or just taking a mere walk. But honestly, do I have to care? As long I'm not the next victim.

"Earth to Mikan!" Someone screamed into my ear. Ouch that hurt.

"Anna… Can't you see I'm trying to get serious down here?" I plopped my head down on the table. I seriously needed to get some sleep. After those two cases, every night was a sleepless one. Who knows if I'll be sleepwalking towards the oak tree the next moment if I fall asleep?

"Mikan." I turned around. Hotaru. With the usual cold eyes.

"Hmm? Nani Hotaru-chan."

"Continue to sulk so much, and soon, you'll be talking to my palm."

I smiled and nodded. I knew Hotaru cared for me, although she might be a little stoic sometimes, but still, she's my best friend, now and forever.

Folding my arms on the table, I rested my head on them, hoping to get some sleep before home period. Then suddenly, an all familiar scream could be heard in the corridors. My eyes snapped open. What the shit? In broad daylight? Running to the windows, I turned my head in the direction of the oak tree. No one. Nothing. Then… what was that?

To my surprise, there were more screams. No wait. How dumb could I have been. Those screams… Ah. Permy and friends.

Strolling back to my seat, the bell rang. There goes my much needed beauty sleep. The door slammed open and Sumire and company raced back to their seats, eyes sparkling like diamonds. God knows what got into them.

"Class. Sit down." Jinno-sensei walked through the class doors.

What. Narumi-sensei's not here? Having to see a sulky face in the morning isn't going to help the already sulky me cheer up.

"Today, we have 2 new transfer students. Please come in."

The doors slid open, and two boys walked in. Normally, I wouldn't care so much about transfer students or hot guys, but these two were different. They just had this strong charisma that you can't avoid.

"The one on the right is Natsume Hyuuga, and the one on the left is Ruka Nogi. Please treat them with care." Ignore care, it's more like they're going to be showered with so much love, they're going to get sick of it, especially when Permy and her friends go wild. Well… they already were.

"Jinno-sensei! I want to sit with Natsume-kun. Please!" Sumire waved her hands in the air like an octopus. Why octopus, no idea.

"No. Hyuuga-san, you will sit beside Noriko-san and Nogi-san, you will sit beside… Hotaru-san."

I stole a glance at Hotaru. No reaction. Well, let's say. Typical Hotaru.

"Hey old geezer." My ears perked up. It was that new guy, Natsume. Jinno-sensei froze when Natsume stared at him with those crimson eyes of his. Speaking of crimson eyes… Nah. Vampires don't attend school, do they? Their brains are probably too rotten to absorb anything in the first place.

"Y-Yes?" Well, well, even Jinno-sensei can stutter.

"I want to sit there." He pointed at the empty seat beside mine. My eyes widened, are you serious. Damn. This is going to cause a lot of unnecessary attention for me.

"O-okay. Nogi-san, what about you, no objections?" Jinno-sensei stuttered even more.

"No, I'm perfectly fine." And to my surprise, this guy smiled. And I have to admit, that smile, was one of a kind.

"Okay class! Free period! Treat them. With CARE." He emphasized on the care before sprinting out of the classroom. Was that Natsume guy really that scary? Mysterious, yes. Scary… not so.

My eyes watched my 'neighbour' walk down the aisle, enchanting the girls along the way with his model like walk and sexy body line, and sit right down on the chair. Beside mine.

"Hi. I'm Mikan Sakura. Nice to meet you." I forced on a smile and put my hand out for him to shake. He turned around and stared at me. Now I understood how Jinno-sensei felt. Then, with a 'Hn.' He turned back round to face the front of the classroom again. Anger was boiling up deep within me. The already-sulky-me was so kind as to self-introduce myself and he just ignored me like I was air. Great, does he think himself as a prince or even a king? Tsk. No basic courtesy.

"Sorry… Sakura-san. Natsume, just doesn't interact a lot with humans." I spun around, when did the blonde appear.

"Ah hi. Humans?" Aren't we all humans.

"Oops, I mean people." He smiled a little.

"Oh haha, it's okay, I can put up with that." I laughed it off, you can't expect me to vent my anger on such a cute guy.

"Good to know, you can call me Ruka by the way." Then, he returned back to his seat. His self-introduction with Hotaru must have failed so terribly. Poor guy.

I laid my head on the table again. Thank god for free period. My eyelids grew heavier by the second. And soon, I was asleep.

And for some reason, I wasn't really asleep, more like, where am I? Must be a dream, it must be.

I looked around, trees and more trees. Loud footsteps could be heard approaching me. Wait, I don't get this.

Suddenly, fire.

The burst of orange flames right before my eyes made me wake up with a scream. I looked around the classroom, everyone was staring at me. Like I've gone mad.

"Mikan-chan, you… alright?" Nonoko came to my side.

"I'm fine, just a nightmare."

But the truth is, I was not.