Thank You to:

Miha-chan

Haha. Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it

EzMouse

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Honey kun

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lysabelle

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Glenda23

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Colette G.

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Ai-chan13

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Hikari the Keyblade of Hope

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The highlighted one/s is my good friend/s. If I missed out on anybody, gomenasai! Arigatou everybodeh for reviewing!! XD

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Day Six

The New Years Festival

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Mornings are supposed to be peaceful with a serene awakening. The morning complements the day when the birds arise from their nests and sing their morning sun. It's a quiet hour, where people slip off their beds and greet the new day. Well, for Mikan – that was anything but now.

"GET OUT!" she yelled and whipped a throw pillow at Natsume who yowled like a stabbed cat.

"What was that for, moron?"

"I can't believe you…you slept with me!!!"

"I DID NOT!" retorted Natsume who threw the pillow at the doll.

"You did too! Don't you know how shocking it is to a girl when she finds up some sleezy perv is sleeping beside her?!!? It's STUPID, I tell you. S-T-U-P-E-E-D!"

"Shut the hell up! You probably just sleep walked here!! No wonder I smelled something horrid when I was sleeping!"

"You probably farted you stupid pervert!" Mikan screeched and stomped off to the bathroom.

"If anyone farted then it better be you!"

"Five words: I'm going to take a shower!"

"That's six words you dimwit!"

"No one asked you to tell me, dummy!"

And with that, they greeted the morning.

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"I'm still not talking to you because of what happened last night!"

"Then why did you say something to me, then?"

"YOU PISS ME OFF, NATSUME!!"

Natsume didn't reply. The two of them came across a gigantic poster which was hung on the wall. There drawings of fireworks and cotton candy. It was a wonderful sight. There was a photo of a boat on a lake and the moonlight cascading over the water, projecting the silhouettes of the marine life that inhabited the freshwater.

NEW YEARS FESTIVAL

Let's greet the new year in Central Town!!

TONIGHT from 6:00 PM TO 2:00 am!!

Let's parteyh!

"Natsume! Natsume!! Can we go?!?!"

"I hate occasions such as this!"

"YOU corn ball Natsume!! Come on, it's New Year's!! And I watched on TV that New Years is a super duper exciting event!! There's fireworks and games and food and this thing called COUNTDOWN TO MIDNIGHT!! It sounds so fun! Why don't you want to go?"

"Cause it's the dumbest thing…it's just commercialization"

Mikan noticed that Natsume looked very lonely when he said that.

"Natsume-kun, even though it's just commercialization it doesn't matter," Mikan said. "What matters is that you're spending it with someone you care about"

Natsume rolled his eyes. "I am not going"

"You have to participate, Natsume!! It's your grade!!"

"FINE, I'll go you dork!"

"Now that's more like it!"

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The sound of fireworks filled the Alice Academy. Mikan watched the colorful lights spread in the air and slowly drift down, eventually disappearing. She let go of the windowsill and looked at herself in the mirror. She wore a yellow spaghetti-strap dress with layers on the bottom. She stared at her feet which now wore stunning gold sandals. Thanks to Misaki-senpai, she was able to afford these stuff. She was so thankful.

Natsume came out wearing his suit.

"Natsume-kun!! You're so handsome!!" Mikan squealed and examined the fabric of the suit carefully.

"How do you think I look?" Mikan asked, twirling around.

Natsume just stared at her, his cheeks flushed. He noticed that her hair wasn't tied up in those immature pigtails, they were set down and clipped with a black barrette that showed off her natural curls. Her hair fell to her chest, Natsume observed the fact that she had a slim figure when she wore that dress and her shoulders were slim too… wait…Natsume shook his head. She's a doll. She could be the cousin of a teddy bear. Those were wrong thoughts, damn it.

"You look like a frog" Natsume said.

Mikan put her hands on her hips. "Well I think you look like a donkey, you perv!"

Natsume opened the door and the two of them went out.

"But really, Natsume – you look handsome!!!" Mikan said, smiling. Natsume looked away and blushed once more. Although it wasn't that noticeable, it completely removed his dignity that he was actually crushing on a doll.

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Central Town was beautiful.

The trees and the shrubs were lit up with vivid lights and the stores were closed for the festival. There were girls dancing elegantly in the middle of the street with pretty colorful umbrellas and flapping their paper fans about. There was a march band playing their instruments and marching around the city and behind them was a big floater made by the academy following them. Riding on it was the student council and the Technology Types produced a fascinating display of fireworks.

"Wow, Natsume-kun! This festival is so nice!!" Mikan said, twirling around. "See? I knew it was worth going to!"

"They do the same thing every year. Parade. Food. Fireworks. Party. Can't they do something more interesting?" Natsume grunted.

"You always are looking at the downside of life!" Mikan groaned.

"I'm just looking at reality, you piece of pork!"

"I…I'm not a piece of pork!!" Mikan snapped.

"With the thickness of your waist, it seems like it!"

"Why you…TSUBASA-SENPAI!!!"

The naïve doll flew into her onii-chan's arms and he hugged her back. Natsume rolled his eyes and followed her.

"Hey, it's the first time the brat ever attended the New Years festival!"

"The piece of pork forced me to"

"Piece of pork?"

"Never mind, Tsubasa-senpai!"

"Where are you and Misaki-senpai headed to?" Mikan asked, without waiting for any reply.

"Sweet Melody"

"What? What's that?"

Tsubasa flashed a piece of paper at her.

SWEET MELODY

Ride a gondola with the one you love

Here in the New Year's Festival, Central Town!

Impress her. Impress him!

"Natsume-kun!!! Let's go!!!"

"You stupid girl!! It's only for lovers!!"

"And so? They don't have to, like – discriminate the other relationships just because of what it says!!" Mikan objected.

"This is a New Year's Festival and I want to have fun!!"

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The Sweet Melody was located east of the parade. It was situated beside a quiet lake and there was a line of lovers who were waiting their turn on the gondola. Mikan saw the gondola. It was a small wooden boat painted red and blue. It was the cutest thing she's ever seen.

"Natsume-kun!!! Isn't this exciting?!"

"We're just going to ride a damn gondola! What's so exciting about riding a slow thing that takes thirty minutes!!"

Mikan grunted.

"NEXT!" the person managing the place yelled. It was Mikan and Natsume's turn.

"Let's go!" Mikan said, taking Natsume's hand. Natsume tried to pull his hand out of her tight grasp but it was useless. She was too engrossed in her thoughts to even let go.

The two of them sat opposite each other and the gondola man started paddling. Mikan watched the rest of the people disappear from their sight and she grinned.

"Isn't this so cool?!"

"No" Natsume said flatly.

"You don't make things so enjoyable, Natsume!"

"I don't care"

"What's wrong with you? I should've gone with Tsubasa-senpai or Ruka-pyon! At least they make my day! You make my life a living hell!"

"I don't care either"

"Ugh. It's no use talking to you!"

"Freak"

"Moron"

The two of them kept quite throughout the ride until they came to a stop.

"What? No kissing yet?" The gondola man said, turning around.

"Huh?"

"The Sweet Melody ride is only for lovers!! Friends, acquaintances and enemies are strictly exempted from this ride. If you wanna finish the trip, then I suggest you start kissing if you don't want to get kicked out of the boat!"

"Jeez, mister! You don't have to be so mean about it!" Mikan said.

"Rules are rules, missy. And if you don't follow them then I guess you'll want to swim back to Central Town! I want to see those lips puckered!"

"Natsume-kun…we have to…gulp…kiss" Mikan said, turning to Natsume who was half asleep.

"I'm not kissing some piece of pork!"

"Do you want to get kicked out of the boat and end up swimming back to Central Town? I don't think so!"

Natsume rolled his eyes.

Mikan put her hands on his shoulders.

"You…you kiss me, alright?"

Natsume just looked at her as she shut her eyes. The gondola man watched them carefully as the two of them neared each other, hoping to catch a glimpse of their kiss. Natsume shut his eyes too and the two were now millimeters apart, ready to sink into each other's lips when…

Mikan lost balance of herself and she fell out of the boat. Because she was holding Natsume ever so tight, she pulled him into the lake and the two of them fell in.

Natsume grabbed hold of the boat and pushed himself to the surface of the shore.

"Hey where's your friend?" the gondola man inquired. Natsume looked around and saw nothing but lilypads.

"Oh damn!" he yelled and went back into the water, he came to find a drowning Mikan trying desperately to pull herself up. She struggled through the still water. Natsume picked her up.

Some New Year's festival, alright…

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"Gomen" Mikan said, sitting on Natsume's bed. He had been ignoring her after he saved her from the wrath of the lake which wasn't even a threat.

"I told you we weren't supposed to go!"

"Well I couldn't help it! It sounded so fun!"

"Riding on something that goes one kilometer per hour isn't fun, you stupid freak!"

"At least I tried to make you enjoy, Natsume!"

Natsume silenced.

"You just never appreciate anything, do you Natsume? You're just a loser!" Mikan said, losing her temper and stomping off to the closet.

She stopped at the middle and turned around. "But thank you for saving me!" she grinned

"Whatever! I didn't want the gondola person to get all suspicious and all…"

"I hate you, Natsume" Mikan glared, narrowing her eyes.

"Two words: I'm going to bed!" she yelled and walked to her closet.

"That's three words you idiot!!" Natsume yelled as she slammed the door.

"Who asked you?!"

Night is the time to ponder about. And for Natsume…

He just couldn't forget her…cuteness.

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Day Seven is yet to be revealed…

If you hated this chapter, don't bother reviewing!