Disclaimer: I do not own GA or any of its characters.

Thanks a lot for reviewing:

aie - I hope it'll make more sense after this chapter.

Author Note: So here is another story. I wanted it to be a oneshot, and had written most of it but it got deleted. So now when I started it again, I did not want it to be a oneshot. It should not be too long though. Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW!

Natsume's POV:

I followed her as she walked from her store to her house. Once she was safely in, I walked away to the apartment I had rented across from her place. I lay down on the couch, thinking. Facts could only get me so far, but I had no idea how to approach her.

"Hi, I am the best friend of the man who did this to you. I know you hate him, but he hates himself too, and I can't have that. I want you to go to the hospital and talk to him. Make him want to live again." I let out a humorless chuckle. Yeah... that'd go over well.

Until I could think of something, I was going to keep watching her. My cover was simple. I was a writer. Writer's by their very nature are eccentric and so no one would find it weird that I sat all day in the same place, in the same cafe, typing on my laptop. I could see through the window into her store from there, and keep records of everything she did that way. Truthfully, it was the most comfortable stakeout of my life.

Next Morning:

I sat down at my place in the cafe. Still watching. I had stayed up most of the night, going over everything again, but could find nothing of use whatsoever. The woman had no weaknesses. Then again, she did not have anything left to lose.

My head dropped back. This was... ugh.. why had I not been here when all this happened? Maybe I would have been involved. Maybe then the consequences would not be so horrifying. Maybe then, Ruka would still be himself. I closed my eyes.

"You okay?" the waitress asked me. My head snapped back.

"Yeah fine. I was writing most of the night." the lie slipped out easily.

She gave me a sweet smile, then hurried off. A few minutes later she brought me a glass of iced tea.

"Don't worry, its on the house. All that coffee can't be good for you." she said with another smile.

"Thanks.." I glanced at her name tag, "Anna."

With a cheerful, "You're welcome!" she hurried off.

I sighed in pleasure as I took a sip of the drink she had brought me. This was what Mikan used to be like. Everyone who had known her had used similar words to describe her: vivacious, intelligent, hard working, bright, always cheerful, full of life, saw the good in everyone.

The only things that still applied were hard working and intelligent. She did not smile, she did not laugh, and since she hardly even talked, it was hard to believe this was the same person. I sighed again.

Mikan's POV:

I closed the store and started walking home. It was the same path every night. Obviously. Suddenly I felt someone grab me, and a cold blade pressed to my throat.

"Give me your bag." My captor snapped. I held the bag out. Someone else snatched it from me.

Then, "Oh MAN! This chick is blind!" the person who had snatched away my purse exclaimed. It had to be him, unless there were three of them.

I felt the knife go lower and then slice through my shirt. Blood dripped from the cut he had made on my skin. I did not scream. I could run, but he was right, I was blind. Where would I go? How would I know where to go? Maybe they'd kill me at the end of it, and then it would be finally over.

His hand followed the knife and I felt bile rise in my throat. I was wrong. I was not willing to just roll over and die. I slammed my fist into where I knew his head to be. The second man tried to grab me, and I brought my knee up. I was not going to lose anything again without a fight.

Natsume's POV:

I cursed as I realized I had fallen asleep. I looked around and to my horror the store was closed and Mikan was nowhere in sight.

I jumped up, threw down cash at the table and, stuffing my laptop in its bag, ran. I did not see her anywhere, but the light in her apartment was off. And as weird as it was, she turned it on every night. Not to mention I had bad feeling. I ran back, checking everywhere, and in an alley I saw her.

She had been nabbed by two crooks. From their condition, she had put up one hell of a fight, but now one of them held her immobilized, while the other touched her cheek with a knife. I don;t know what came over me, but I jumped in. Fury clouded my vision as I pummelled the two. Within a minute, they were nothing more than a pile of broken bones and flesh, which happened to be breathing.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She was trying to stand.

"I am going to take your hand now." I said softly. She allowed me to take her hand and pull her up. He r shirt was in tatters, and she was covered in cuts and bruises. Without thinking, I slipped off my jacket and draped it around her.

"Can you stand on your own? I need to call the cops." I asked. She gave me a small nod.

I made the call. The detective was an old friend, so he would take care of everything.

"Do you want to go to a hospital?" I asked when I was done. She shook her head.

"Home?" I asked again and this time she nodded.

"I am taking your head again." I said and then did so. She did not object to my touch. I picked up her bag on our way out of the alley.

"Where to?" I asked, and she gave me directions to her place. I walked her to the door, and then started walking away after a small 'good bye'.

I could hear fumbling in her bag for her keys. Her hands were probably shaking. They were all scratched up too. I stopped and tuned back.

"Let me." I said taking the bag from her, and taking out the key. I opened the door and led her in. The first thing she did was turn on the light. I smiled slightly.

"I..." I was about to leave again when I got a good luck at her in the light. I swore.

"I should have taken you to a hospital." I snapped.

"I would not have gone. I hate hospitals." She said speaking for the first time that night.

"Do you have a first aid kit?" I asked, trying to keep calm and not yell.

"Yes." She gave me directions, as she sat down on a chair. I got the kit, and quickly got to work. When I was done, she faintly resembled a mummy.

"Thats much better. You had to have put up a hell of a lot of a fight." I said approvingly.

"It seems I still have things that I do not want to lose." She said with a shrug. Her words so close to my thoughts of earlier today that I flinched. Good thing she could not see me.

"I'll take my leave then. I hope you feel better soon." I said, turning yet again to leave.

"Wait!" she called and I stopped. I did not turn back.

"What's your name?" she asked.

I debated for a moment but then decided on the truth. "Natsume Hyuuga. I live in the apartment building across from you."

"Mikan Sakura. Thank you for saving my life." she said softly.