"No."
With that simple word, Mikan's entire plan fell into shambles, the pieces far too tiny to try and piece together once more. How could all her cunning planning and meticulous attention to detail have overlooked this one, simple possibility? She had been so thorough, thought the situation over many time, considering every single possibility before coming to a fool proof solution. How could it have all gone so very, very wrong?
Well, perhaps she hadn't really had a plan, but this outcome had not occurred to her when she had begged for Natsume's help.
"W-What?" She stuttered, her eyes widening in horror. "We had a deal Natsume! I offered to be a slave for a bit and you would give me the item you won in the auction!"
He raised an eyebrow at her desperation, his curiosity peaking as he turned the envelope over in his hand. Imai's thin slanting writing spelling out Top Secret, a silent dare to whoever won the item. She had no idea that she was assuring now that he was going to see what was inside, no matter what it took. "I remember saying no such thing, Polka-Dots. I remember placing a bid with my money, making this my item."
"Bu-..." She paused, her eyes hovering over the envelope placed in his hand. He didn't even have the decency to hide it from her to prevent her from stealing it, the cocky jerk. "Natsume! You have to give it to me!"
"The way I see it, I don't have to do anything. My bid, my money, my... Whatever this is." He turned dismissively, flipping the envelope over in his hand to open it, "Consider yourself lucky, little girl, to not have to be a sla-"
He blinked.
Once.
Twice.
There was no fricken' way she just did that.
Yet, here he was, empty handed and watching her sprint full out away from him, her triumphant shout still ringing through the hallway, holding aloft the envelope that had, not moments ago, been in his grip.
His mind slowly began to catch up with what just happened, not believing her cheek.
There was no fricken' way she just did that.
His hand clenched furiously, his eyes narrowing to slits as anger began to boil through his system. Fine, she wanted to play that way?
Well, he could play dirty too.
Mikan gave another whoop of triumph as she hauled across the field behind the school and headed into the woods where Mr Bear lived, kissing the envelope in her jubilation. She took another quick glance over her shoulder, again seeing no signs of pursuit. She was home free!
She couldn't believe that worked! That would teach Natsume to underestimate her!
She wheeled around a tree and jerked to an unsteady stop to catch her breath, leaning back against the trunk and attempting to breathe through her uneasy giggles. The summer air was heavy and sweet in her lungs, making her recovery a little longer then it normally would be. Mikan was by no means out of shape, but even she felt the effects of the uncharacteristically warm weather. Surely it hadn't been this warm earlier, but she supposed it was afternoon and the heat of the day, a poor time to be running around like a lunatic.
But it had been worth it.
With this, her life was saved... As long as Natsume's wrath wasn't too severe. But either way, now that she had this, no one would have to know a thing as long as Hotaru and Koko kept their mouths shut.
As her thudding heartbeat became more regular, she felt curiosity began to take the exhilarations place. She turned the envelope over, wondering if she should open it or not. Despite her earlier panic, there was no need to do anything too rash at the moment, there was no one else in sight to happen upon it. Perhaps she could hide it somewhere, it would be such a waste to destroy it...
"Stupid Natsume..." She muttered quietly, her fingertips running over the contours of the paper, itching to rip it open and look at what she knew was inside. She could barely believe it had happened at the time, everything had gone so fast that she didn't even have time to en-
No, she had not been about to say she had enjoyed it. Not at all, no way. That would make her a pervert.
No, she had most definitely, in no way, enjoyed that kiss! Or any of the others, she convinced herself for good measure.
"I'm not like that pervert Natsume!" She chuckled reassuringly, closing her eyes as she leaned against the harsh bark behind her. "No way..."
She jumped slightly when something brushed the side of her face, fluttering down and landing on the envelope. She smiled in relief when she realised it was just a leaf, shook loose hopefully by the beginnings of a cool breeze. Laughing at her own skittish behaviour, she turned her gaze up to the branches.
"You better start running now, Polka."
Mikan felt her recently calmed heart pick up the pace again when she finally saw him, lounging in the upper branches like a cat, his crimson eyes pinned on her, murderous intent shining within them.
"N-Natsume, fancy seeing you here!" Mikan laughed, attempted to hide the envelope behind her back. "How long have you been sitting there?"
His scowl deepened. "Long enough."
"Ah... Ha ha ha..." She chortled awkwardly, "Well, good talk Natsume. I was just... Leaving."
Before she could turn to run, he slid off the branch and allowing gravity to take him down to the unforgiving ground. She made an odd yelp of shock as he fell, leaping forward almost as if to catch him before he landed smoothly on the forest floor before her, completely unharmed. Her concern cost her her escape as he grabbed her wrist and forced her to back-pedal until she was, once again, backed against the tree bark.
Mikan gulped heavily as he contemplated what to do, cursing her stupidity. She had seen him jump from heights far higher then that and yet she still stayed to make sure he had landed safely. Stupid, stupid, stupid...
Finally making up his mind, he reached around her and plucked the envelope from her grasp, ignoring her squawk of indignation.
"Hey! Natsume Hyuuga, you give that back right now!" Mikan demanded, leaping forward suddenly but tumbling to the ground when he easily sidestepped her. He fixed her with a sardonic gaze, shaking his head in disappointment. His silent scorn was almost as bad as his reaction would probably be when he looked inside that paper and her pride simmered furiously.
Pouncing forward from the ground, this time catching Natsume off guard once more, she grabbed his arm as they both crashed unceremoniously to the forest floor. She wrestled the sheet from him, accidentally ripping the envelope open in the process and allowing it's three contents to spill to the ground.
Letting Natsume go, she pushed off from him and grabbed the photos greedily, rejoicing a moment too long before Natsume grabbed her by the ankle, pulling her back slightly in order to get a better grip. Mikan yelped as his hand closed over his own and forced it open, making her release her catch and watch them fall to the ground.
"No!" She shrieked as he reached for them, grabbing his arm again and attempting to force it from it's destination. Natsume released a small grunt of effort but stayed firm, grasping the photos and wrenching himself free of her octopus-like grip.
"No, Natsume, don't-!"
She felt everything inside crash down when his gaze fell upon the evidence of her crime. The color drained from her face and, much to her own disappointment and anger, felt tears begin to come to her eyes. This would be humiliating. She could just imagine the disgust when he would next look at her, a sneer along with a snipe of "Disgusting", or something along those lines. Natsume was unforgiving when it came to inappropriate conduct and somehow, she didn't think this offence would be one he would forget so easily.
She sat up, trying to fix her dishevelled appearance while attempting to hold back the flood of tears that threatened to release at any second. Any second...
"What the Hell is this supposed to be?"
She sniffed, collecting herself for a moment before glancing up, only to have the photos shoved in her face, too close to truly be able to focus on.
She took them from his outstretched hand and immediately felt relief flood her.
Photos of Natsume asleep, seemingly alone in all three.
She was safe. Hotaru wasn't completely heartless after all.
A watery chuckle escaped her and she sniffed again, attempting to force her tears back before Natsume noticed. The bubble of laughter grew and she was soon doubled over, the knot of anxiety and fear she had been feeling since that morning finally bursting and allowing her to rejoice in her freedom. Safe. He wouldn't know. He would never find out. Thank God...
"Polka, you better tell me what's going on right now."
She breathed deeply in an effort to quell the relief that was swelling in her chest. "Nothing Natsume." She giggled, clutching her stomach.
Before she could blink, Mikan found herself laid back against the grass, one of Natsume's hands resting on her shoulder and the other caging her in on the other side. She looked up at him, confused momentarily before bursting into giggles once more.
"Get off me Natsume." She chuckled, trying to wipe a tear from her eye but finding it impossible to get her hand up in their current position. She opted to leave it at her side and began to squirm, growing increasingly aware of his presence looming over her. Her voice began to steadily grow more serious. "I mean it, get off me Natsume!"
"Not until you tell me what you thought was in that envelope." He breathed quietly, his eyes bored yet steady, as if telling her he could be in this position all day. She hoped he would get some really nasty arm cramps from it, the jerk...
"I didn't know what was in the envelope, Natsume." She said nonchalantly, shrugging in a hopeful show of realistic innocence.
His eyebrow slowly raised. But he remained silent.
She had had just about enough of this silly game so she began to struggle a little more. When it became obvious that he had no intention of moving, she fixed him with her nastiest glare in hopes of intimidating him into submission. "Let me up. Now."
Damn him! She swore the corner of his mouth was lifting into a sardonic smirk. Here she was, pinned to the ground and getting genuinely angry and he had the nerve to smirk about it?
"Natsume, get off!" She snarled, getting her arms to her sides enough to gain leverage on his chest and push off.
He didn't even move.
"Get off me!"
Nothing.
"Now, Natsume!"
Dare she say, he seemed almost disappointed by her efforts.
Damn it!
Damn it!
Why did she always get herself into such stupid situations?
Why was she such a bloody idiot?
Everyone saw it. She hadn't even been in class for five minutes before people at Gakuen Academy before the other student recognised her symptoms of idiocy. Hotaru and Natsume were always pointing it out. Everybody was always telling her. She always managed to get herself into these sorts of situations because she never thought.
She acted on impulse, blurted out everything she felt, didn't think about how her actions would reflect on her and all those things had led to this humiliating situation. Why couldn't she just think for once?
Why was she so stupid?
Much to her own dismay, she was in tears again.
"Get off me, Natsume."
Still, he was a rock. She almost screamed out in frustration when his voice interrupted her thoughts.
"What did you think it was, Mikan?"
She sniffled meekly, avoiding his eyes and looking to a tree she could see through a crack in his defences.
"What did you do?"
"Who said I did anything?" She snapped weakly, but it sounded defeated even to her own ears.
"It's obvious." There. She hated that tone. That stupid, arrogant, flat tone that made it sound like he knew everything she could ever say before she said it, although she grimly reminded herself that he didn't know and that was what the problem was.
"I didn't do anything, Natsume. You need to let me up now."
He didn't move or even give an acknowledgment that he had heard her at all, perfectly content to wait for her to answer the question. She knew she wasn't getting out of this so she may as well just get it over with...
"You're not going to like it." She mumbled quietly and if she had had the ability to, she would have begun to twiddle her fingers from the nerves. "I'll tell you if you promise not to overreact."
"I make no promises." Was his swift response.
Ahh, Natsume. Ever the thoughtful boy.
"It's probably not what your expecting."
"I never know what to expect from you." He stated bluntly. "Somehow, you always seem to do the opposite of the regular course of action."
"Yeah..." She trailed off, watching the blades of grass by her face with sudden extreme interest. "I guess you could say I did something really random..."
"You may as well spit it out." He told her, obviously getting tired of the game. "You probably have me thinking things worse then what you actually did. So just say it, Polka."
"I..." Dang it, why could she feel her face warming up already? She hadn't even said it yet! "I..." Her heart began to race, swallowing heavily as she tried to calm her nerves. It was now or never... Just spit it out, Mikan...
"I ASSAULTED YOU!"
That was not how she meant to put it.
If she didn't know better, she could have sworn there was a trace of humour in his voice. "You... Assaulted me?"
"Ahhh, ha ha." She muttered awkwardly. "Maybe 'assault' is a bit of a strong word." Her forehead scrunched in thought as she considered her words. "Actually, if you had done it to me I probably would have said you assaulted me and called you a pervert... I mean, I did call you a pervert in the past, but that time you really were a pervert, you didn't mean it." Her eyes widened slightly in realisation. "That's not to say that I did mean it! No, no... But if I didn't, that means I really am a pervert!"
She hadn't even noticed that Natsume was no longer looming over her like a cat ready to pounce, so caught up in her web of perversity that she didn't seem to realise that she was even saying it out loud anymore. Natsume merely sat beside her, watching her with a slightly bemused expression.
"Although Natsume did steal my underwear when I first met him, not to mention kissing me at the Christmas party and calling me polka dots and constantly making comments about my chest size. No, it wasn't anything that bad. So one little kiss doesn't make me a super pervert like him, at least!"
"One little kiss?" That certainly caught Natsume's attention. He had been considering the different things she may have accidentally seen or done that may have been considered 'perverted' by this girls very broad definition, but doing something actually considered intimate had never entered the boys mind. But now, his interest was most definitely piqued. Judging from her extremely stiff expression, she had suddenly remembered he was still there with her and was regretting what she had said through the flow of babble. "What do you mean by that, Polka?"
Mikan scrambled to her feet, her face a brighter red then he had ever before seen it. As much as he hated to admit it, he felt a trill of excitement course through him at the vulnerable and embarrassed look in her eyes.
Interesting.
"Who ever said anything about a kiss?" She asked with mock innocence, trying to slowly back away from him.
Now that he thought about it, Mikan did have a similar expression on her face when he woke up that morning, but he had thought it was due to his strong grip on her, as well as getting caught in a compromising position by her 'best' friend, that had caused it. But really, could it perhaps have been something a little... More?
He dared not let his hopes get too high. Polka never really gave any sort of clue that she was interested in that way. Sure, she had shown interest in his health and welfare, but she did that for every poor schmuck that came her way. He had never thought that she felt the same as...
No, these thoughts were going into extremely dangerous waters.
Instead, he placed on the smallest of lazy grins on his face. It was barely there, yet enough to make Mikan's heart skip a beat. Since when did he make expressions like that?
"Did innocent little Mikan do something naughty to me while I slept?" He teased, his tone light. Since when did Natsume tease her like this? It was
making her heart race in a whole different way. "My, whatever will I do? Now I'll never be able to get married."
"What are you talking about squinty eyes?" She snapped suddenly, her own eyes narrowed into slits. "You kiss me without my permission all the time."
"Apparently you liked it though." He pointed out blankly. "You still haven't denied you did it."
Something in her reminded her exactly what she could be getting herself into, but another part of her wanted to prove him wrong. Although he had unknowingly brought up the truth, he still didn't believe she had it in her. That cocky, arrogant little ba-
"And what if I did?" She snarled triumphantly, a spark lighting in her eyes. "Huh, Natsume? You're always sneaking up on me, I bet you never thought I could pull a fast one on you! Well, I did and you didn't even know it!" She crossed her arms. "So there."
He chuckled slightly, so quietly that she could have missed it. "And that's really all you did? That's what all this was about?"
She pouted, annoyed at his nonchalance on the matter, seemingly forgetting that it was better then the reaction she had been fearing all morning. "Yes, Natsume, that's all it was, so we can just forget about it now. This big mistake can be put behind us now."
If she had known him any less, she would have missed the way the teasing light left his eyes, the way that small smirk dropped from his lips. But she did notice and suddenly, warning bells began to chime in her mind. Something she had said had definitely upset him. Confusion entered the girl. Isn't just forgetting it all the best course of action?
"Yeah, I guess we can just forget your stupid little mistake." He snapped suddenly, standing quickly to leave. Why did he seem determined not to look at her anymore? "Don't worry, Polka, it's safe with me. I don't want people to know I've been letting some underdeveloped little girl attack me while I sleep."
There it was, that tone of disgust that she had expected before. Somehow, the pieces fell slightly into place and the smallest of smirks came to her face.
"Natsume, did I hurt your pride?"
From the slightest flinch of his shoulders, she had hit the nail on the head. So that's all it was. It wounded the fire alice's poor little ego. She laughed harshly.
"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not bragging about kissing the great Natsume Hyuuga like most of your little fans would be." She told him coldly, "What did you expect? That once it was out, I wouldn't be able to resist being there at your beckoned call? Because, Nats-"
She released a small 'eep' when Natsume turned heel suddenly, stopping a mere inch from her face, so close she could barely breathe.
"You stupid girl."
Mikan slowly regained her voice. "W-What did you say? I'm not stupid, Natsume!"
"Yes, you are." He told her bluntly. "You are a stupid, immature, inconsiderate and completely oblivious idiot who never sees..." He cut himself off and turned away, his hands shaking with emotion. Without another word, he stomped off.
He was not getting off that easy.
"H-Hey, Natsume!"
When he didn't acknowledge her, she raced forward to catch up, bursting in front of him and holding her arms out wide to prevent him from escaping. "What do you mean, I'm oblivious? What am I not noticing, huh?"
"It's obvious, pigtails." He snapped coolly, "You'll have to figure it out on your own." His eyes turned down to the grass, which really worried her. No matter what, Natsume never avoided eye contact. It was something she had always secretly admired about him, the ability to look people in the eye and tell them point blank what he though about them. The fact that he was avoiding her gaze made her feel uneasy. "I'm done here."
When he moved to walk around her, she wheeled on him, grabbing his arm with both hands. "No, Natsume, that's not how this works! You don't just get to pick when we talk and then leave when you feel like it, especially after you just forced me into talking to you not five minutes ago! That's not fair, Natsume, and you know it!"
"Let me go." He snarled, traces of real anger simmering in his eyes. Had she not known him like she did, she may have been frightened. But now, she was more reminded of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum and she held her ground.
"No, Natsume. Not until you talk to me."
"Why should I?" He snapped, still avoiding her gaze. "It was just some dumb mistake, right? It's not like I wanted you to do it, so forgetting about it would be the easiest. So move, Polka, or you'll really piss me off."
"No!" Mikan snarled, stamping her foot in irritation to emphasise the word. "That isn't fair, idiot! You get to do whatever you want all the time, but whenever I do something it's wrong! Well guess what Natsume, I take back that apology. I'm tired of being treated like I'm too stupid to understand that situation. I know exactly what I did and I'm not sorry for it!"
Much to her own dismay, she felt a sob break through her voice and she tried to hold back the ones to follow desperately. She would not let him see how much his words hurt her. She would not allow him to see just how much his opinion mattered to her.
She definitely would not let him see that he managed to get her to cry for real.
"Whatever, just go away." She muttered coldly, turning to march off further into the trees and escape this humiliation.
"Hey, Mikan." She could of swore she heard a trace of regret in his tone, but she refused to believe it. She just continued purposefully away from him, her long strides gradually picking up the pace until she was in a full blown run, not paying attention to where she was going. All she knew was that she was furious and she needed to get away from that idiot.
"Mikan!"
She glanced behind her, shocked by the sight to see him chasing her, a look of determination in his fiery eyes.
No way...
Part of her felt touched by the effort he was showing, something that was so uncharacteristic that she couldn't help but wonder if he was sick or suffering from the temporary insanity that seemed to be going around today, but the other part of her was furious at him for obviously ignoring her wishes and continually being present when she had made it more then obvious she wanted time alone.
Either way, she pumped her legs faster and harder, determined to escape him. Even though the walls of the Academy bordered every edge of the forest, there was more then enough ways to lose him through this maze of trees.
"Leave me alone Natsume! I don't want to talk to you!" She snarled over her shoulder, ignoring his look of irritation.
He seemed to be gaining ground on her fast, the only way she was going lose him would be to move into thicker foliage.
Making a split second decision, Mikan suddenly bolted to the right into a deep thicket, ignoring the sting as branches and thorns pulled at her clothes and pricked her bare skin.
"Idiot, that's whe-"
His words were lost as Mikan's foot sunk into what she had thought was solid ground, rising to her knee. She cried out in surprise, trying to throw her momentum backwards but doing so unsuccessfully. She stumbled, falling forward into the mud that stank of swamp.
She gagged, thankfully keeping her face out of the disgusting mess but knowing that the rest of her wasn't so lucky. As she tried to right herself, her hand sunk further into the muck, sucking her down further into the trap the wetland had laid for her. She grunted in frustration, forcing herself to stand as the mud released her arms with a wet pop! She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she flicked her hand, the green goo flicking from her finger and flinging everywhere, speckling across her face, much to her poorly concealed fury.
"Idiot." Came the harsh word and she turned to see him, the cause of all this, standing at the swamps edge, his red eyes pinning her with disdain. "I warned you Polka."
"Shut up Natsume." She snapped, attempting to turn around and nearly falling over in the process, her muck covered pigtails swinging from her jerky motions and slapping her across the face, leaving a trail of green slime behind. She suddenly felt like sitting and having a good, long cry, Natsume be damned. Everything today was against her!
"Here."
She glanced up to see Natsume offering her his hand, his feet carefully planted just outside of where the cleverly hidden wetland began. For a moment she almost refused, feeling guilty at the thought of covering his generosity in this disgusting concoction but the moment soon passed and she grabbed him, pulling herself up with flourish and getting to solid ground with as much grace she could muster.
He pinned her with a blank stare as she tried to scrape it off with the side of her hand to no avail, trying a few times before giving up with a ill concealed groan of exhaustion. He fought to keep a devilish grin down. She would kill him if he showed amusement now.
"We've got about an hour's walk back to the Academy from here." He told her bluntly, ignoring her flinch at the thought. "You led us pretty damn far, you know that Polka?"
"Whatever." She muttered, flicking her hand again in a feeble attempt to rid herself of some of the mud. "You didn't have to follow me." She considered her words before throwing in a "Jerk." for good measure.
"There's a stream that leads through the woods, we passed it on the way here. We can stop there on the way back and you can... Clean up a little."
Mikan shot him with a glare that could have competed with one of his own before she turned, stomping off through the trees with a new enthusiasm in her stride, no doubt hoping to clean herself off a little.
Natsume couldn't help an eye roll. "Wrong way, Polka."
The was a pause in the stumbling through the underbrush before she turned, breaking back out through the bushes and pushing past him, a muttered "I knew that." hanging in the air.
Natsume sighed silently. This was going to be a long walk.
Plenty of hurt feeling and slight angst this chapter. I'm planning for one more after this and I promise, there will be a fluffier chapter coming! Well, as fluffy as Natsume can get, anyways.
