Disclaimer : I do not own Gakuen Alice since I'm an ex-prefect who is short! Ohhh... my boarding school will be in sight after three days!

Hohoho... I think this is the last chapter I can update...umm the next chap might be updated after two or three month from now since my next holiday will fall within August...(I guess)... I'm so sorry!! But whatever it is, just read this on...and enjoy!

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Mikan's POV (can you believe it! This is Mikan's POV!!)

"He had left…" I said… gazing at the blue cloudless sky. Soft wind whistled and my hazel hair run free. I squatted in the front garden of the deserted Squad Tenth block. Almost everybody from the squad had left for the North. Only some lightly injured members were still in the compound.

I stared at some small rocks. Without any intention, I reached my hand out for a raven-coloured rock. I smiled.

"Look at you… you looked like captain's hair." I whispered, not directing it to anyone. I played with the rock. After some time, I lifted it to the blue sky.

"Light blue…doesn't suit you…" I said, trying to harmonize the raven rock with the blue sky above. "Shinsengumi…does not suit you." I muttered alone, imagining the light blue uniform of Shinsengumi.

Suddenly, I heard something trampled on a twig. A crack voice was produced. I turned around to see a black cat coming towards me. Its eyes were like a shining gold.

I was startled for a moment. Without any warning, the cat fell down to Earth. I went to get it and found a wounded left leg on the organism. "You poor little cat…"

I heaved the cat into my embrace, carrying it back to the room to perform the first aid. The cat was struggling quite hard initially but turned calm after I stroked its fur gently. Without hesitation, I wrapped its injured leg with clean bandages. Within minutes, the cut was covered.

"You're alright now." I said. The cat made a small mewing voice. It settled himself on my lap, closing its startling eyes slowly. Soon, the cat has already gone to dreamland.

I let a small sigh before smiling. "I thought I would be lonely in here, alone, but now, I have you, Natsume-chan." I said, naming the cat with the same name as the Tenth Captain.

"Maybe it is too late but, yoroshiku ne, Natsume-chan!"

End of POV

Meanwhile…

"Haccuummm!!"

"Are you alright Captain Natsume? This is the second time…Did you catch a cold?"

"No…I'm alright. Let's get going, the dawn will arrive soon." The captain answered, wiping his pointed nose with a piece of cloth.

'Somebody…must be talking about me…'

///-

Mikan's POV

Three days… Three days had passed without any major incident. And my life as a girl servant is nothing other than ordinary.

It had become a routine, for me to wake up early and water the flowers in the front garden. Right after that, I was instructed to wash a whole bunch of clothes, mainly used for sword practice. Sometime, even clothes from other squad were included in my laundry.

"New people shouldn't slack off! Don't think you can get it easy when your captain is not around." I remembered a senior spoke to me when she saw me pouting at the mount of laundry.

Breakfast was given after my laundry. If I am lucky, I'll get at least a bowl of cold rice and a small piece of shrimp. If that is not my day, I might not get any breakfast at all.

Flashback

"Mikan-chan, why were you so late?! The breakfast finished already." A senior said. "We thought you did not want your breakfast since you were sooooo late." Another senior with long pointed nose said. "Try to come earlier next time." Another senior with a hairy mole on her nose advised.

With a howling stomach, I only managed to bow and say "Thank you for your concern."

End of flashback

And after that, I'll have to clean the rooms in the Tenth Squad's block. When I say 'clean' it includes sweeping, moping, rearranging the contents in the cupboard, wipe the windows and all the furniture, and even under the tatami mat.

After having lunch, usually at the late hour of the noon, all the maids are required to prepare the dinner. I am always appointed as the person to get the water from the well.

As you can see… Each day is a tiring day for me. "I only have you to be beside me, Natsume-chan." I muttered to the black cat. The mammal was eating a fried shrimp I saved from my dinner. I stroked the black cat gently, checking at his injury in process.

"It will heal soon." I said to the cat, changing his bandage to another clean bandage. Usually, I will keep the black cat in the cupboard each morning before going for my duty. And each night, I'll feed him with some of my dinner after all my chores are done.

Even though I had a tiring day each day, Natsume-chan's presence had somehow kept me from losing my ground.

However…

It was a damp night. The moon and the stars were covered in the thick black clouds. The wind was as cold as ice.

As usual, after I finished my responsibilities, I will rush back to the room with two reasons; One, to obey the captain's order to stay in the room after chores and two, to feed Natsume-chan.

I hastily slid the paper door open. "Natsume-chan…!" I called for the Black cat. Usually, it would reply me with a mewing voice but tonight, the room was free from the mewing voice.

Bewildered, I went to the very cupboard I used to place Natsume-chan. I opened it, hoping to see the cat but there was no sign of him; not even his bed cloth was in view.

I tried to calm myself down. "He's okay…he's okay. He must be somewhere around, playing hide-and-seek with me. Calm down, Mikan." I muttered to myself.

I searched the room. Time passes by… it was already pass midnight.

Suddenly, I smelled something…something stink. I covered my nasal with my left hand. My eyebrows creased in confusion.

"What's that smell?" I questioned myself. I went outside, towards the source of the unpleasant smell. My heart started to thump fast.

I slid open the door. The smell got stronger. I advanced towards the source in haste, not knowing why… until…

Thump!! The thunder strike providing a bright light enough for me to see the black substance in front me, with an unknown liquid flowing out non-stop.

"Natsume-chan!!" I screeched, disturbing the peacefulness in the quiet damp night. I reached out my hand, but quickly drawn it back in impulse.

Tears rolled down my cheek. "Who did this to you…?" I sniffed. "Where's your feet?" I realized that the back leg of the black cat was gone. Not far from my location, I saw the white bandage I used to wrap Natsume-chan's injured leg.

My hazel eyes dilated even more. My body froze.

"What are you doing?!" I heard a man's voice behind me, but didn't bother to turn back as I was completely consumed with sadness. "Identify yourselves!" He yelled, running towards me in process, with a sword in his hand. Some other members woke up by the small commotion. They ran towards the very location, each wielded a katana in their hands.

"What's the matter?" One of the members spoke out, clearly annoyed that his beauty sleep had been disturbed. Nobody answered him.

Rain start to pour down heavily, washing the stink smell away. My tears were concealed within the rain.

The man behind me stole a look at Natsume-chan's carcass. I waited for his response.

"What's this?!" He spoke out loudly. "A dead junk!" He called out. His word had severely injured me.

Knowing the real situation, the men assembled when back to their inviting bed, complaining in process. I realized that some of the maids came rushing to the incident too. After the man behind me left, my seniors came to me.

"Clean the rubbish. It will get stink!" They said, without any word of pity. I pulled out my handkerchief, securing Natsume-chan's parts in it.

"Isn't this the black cat we met in the afternoon?" One of the maids blurted out, gaining my attention. "Oh, the one that stole your salmon fish?" The other said. "Yeah, I told the guard to kill it." The maid replied simply. "Haha… you asked Sano, right? Oh dear, you are so sneaky!" The other maid stated, and laughed. "Well, you can't be picky; At least, job well done." They said, and with that, they left giggling among themselves.

"Why did you do that?" I said over the pouring rain. The maids stopped. "Why did you kill him?! It is just a salmon fish!" I yelled at my senior. Their eyes went wide. "Watch your mouth, you arrogant brat!" One of the maids snorted. "Yeah, don't think that you're special because Captain Natsume let you stay in his room!" another maid back up.

I gritted my teeth furiously. "That's not the matter! The main point is, you killed Natsume-chan!" I barked. "Oh, naming the filthy black cat with the captain's name? You're crossing the line." A senior said. "You're insulting him!"

"I want you to say sorry to Natsume-chan." I commanded, ignoring their comment. The maid with a long pointed nose went towards me and pulled my hazel hair. I let a small groan but tried to hold it for the sake of my pride.

"Watch to who you're talking to!" She threatened.

I smirked, "so… this is how the great Shinsengumi does their work, huh?! By using force! You merciless bunch of people…" I talked back, raising my tone.

Dushhh! My head was pushed hard against the muddy ground.

"She insulted the Shinsengumi." "Oh my…this acts worth Seppuku." "Well, serve her right." "Send her to commander Hijikata!" Murmurs were heard.

"I don't think so. Disturbing the Vice Commander in this middle of night will cost our head. We can take care of this small fry alone." The pointed nose maid said.

"Are you planning to kill her?"

"Of course not, moron! We'll just have to teach her how to respect the Shinsengumi…"

"Roger…"

///-

"Bow!" I was ordered after receiving three consecutive blows from the maids using ladles. The maid with pointed nose stepped on my back, forcing me to bow low.

"Repeat after me, small fry don't have any rights to talk bad about us and Shinsengumi." She instructed with an annoying, extremely high pitched voice.

I snorted in response. "Who would do that?" I said.

PAP!! A slap dropped on my face. It stung but not as much as the first one which I received three days ago. Correct, I was tormented secretly for three days in total.

Bumps had already blended with my bare skin. Blue, purple, red and even green are the colors of my skin now. But they are not stupid. They hit me in the place which will be concealed under my yukata.

Even though I was put out of sight in the oily kitchen, information still reached my ears.

Three captains from the Squad 1, 5 and 9 are back from their scouting, which left… The Tenth Squad Captain, Hyuuga Natsume.

In any case, when Captain Natsume came back, I will surely be released.

I know that it is only one week, but I felt that I haven't met him for years. He is my hope to get off this agony.

"Ah, Sumire-sama." I heard the maid with pointed nose call out. I lifted my face to see The Head Maid. Suddenly, my head was pushed back against the wall.

"Arggh, What are you doing you stupid people!" I shouted, losing my patience.

An egg was smashed onto my head, the filling flows out meekly.

"Watch your mouth, brat." The maid warned.

"Stop it." The Head Maid said. "Release her… The Tenth Captain has returned."

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To be continued... after a longggg pause.

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Natsume is back! Can U believe it! (Kyaaaa!! 1000000000x)

Ehemm...first, I want to thank the reviewers. "Arigato Gozaimasu!"

Second, I want to say sorry as I can't update this story for a loooonnnggg time. "Gomenasai"

Third, I want to say goodbye since I will be departing for my boarding school (300km away from my computer) after three days from today. "Sayonara"

Last but not least (hahaha, cliche) , please review this last chap for another three month (or maybe longer) !! Review ne! "Onegai"

Domo minna! Matta ne!