Ah. I think this is much faster than last time, don't you? The time taken to publish a new chapter, I mean. But I didn't get that many reviews! Dx … And that's not cool … I'd really love to get reviews from all of you who read my story… Please review!! … Hope you like this chapter though. REVIEWS! xD
He Returns
In the darkness of the night, stars shimmered brightly and the silver moon was glowing dimly, making the dark much brighter than usual. It was a full moon that night. And a body lay under a big cherry blossom tree as the calm wind blew past the field. A pair of hazel eyes slowly opened, at first they were soft but soon became alive once more. The brunette slowly gently rose from the grass by using her arm to support her light body. Her other hand reached her mouth, placing her fingers on her lips.
"That's weird…" the words were only spoken in a mere whisper, "It's as if I can feel a warm sensation on my lips…"
Mikan sat up from the ground and looked up. The black cat was gone. "Natsume left?" she asked herself softly.
"Who's gone?"
Mikan turned and saw him. Natsume was leaning against the tree trunk, only a meter away from her. His crimson eyes watched her attentively, not looking away. Somehow, it didn't seem natural. Mikan felt awkward in front of him. No, it wasn't love. It just felt awkward—like he was being protective over her. But she couldn't see why. She was back to normal.
Koko had described her weird behavior. However, the culprit herself seemed to be unaware of her odd behavior. She acted normal. She was normal. But those times when she blanked of into space, her thoughts were wary and confusing. That's what Koko had once said when they were alone. It was like she turned into a different person during those brief moments.
Natsume wanted to know why. But no one had the answers. Not even Mikan herself.
"Oi," Natsume finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence. "What are you staring at?" Mikan turned around.
"Nothing." The brunette spun around and stared at the sky and used both her hands to support herself by putting them at the back of her body. Her hair dangled onto her sleeveless arms. Her eyes which were full of life soon grew darker till there was no more light in them. This caught Natsume's attention. But according to the mind-reader, she came back to normal people called her. The fire when -caster got up and stood in front of the girl, glaring at her. No response.
"… Oi, Mi—" Suddenly, the wind blew viciously pass them, blowing many sakura petals off the tree and bringing them along into the sky.
"Reo." The wind slowed to a calm breeze. Natsume snapped his head to the girl, his eyes wide open with terror.
Natsume lowered his body to match the level with him and her. "Mikan?" he called, sweat tricking down his face. It couldn't be. She couldn't still be under his spell. There was no way. The drug was gone, her alice was still there.
Mikan blinked. When she opened her eyes, her hazel brown eyes were filled with life. She looked back at the fire-caster who kneeled in front of her, watching her cautiously again. Why? "Natsume?" she asked. "Wait… What are you doing so close to me!?" she screamed. A vein popped on Natsume's head.
"Idiot," he spoke. She was fine. He tried to convince himself that. There was nothing wrong. Nothing. But deep inside, he could feel that he was telling himself that there was something wrong. He looked at her and flicked a finger on her forehead.
"Ouch!" she yelled. "W-What are you doing?!"
"You're so stupid, polka-dots."
"P-Pervert!" she grimaced at him. "Ah! I just remembered," she said, grabbing the bag she had left beside her. She took out another one of her boxes and handed it to him.
"What's this?" Natsume asked. "Your stupid puffy thing again?"
"It's not! And the sweets are not stupid!" Mikan yelled, three veins popped on her head. Natsume unwrapped the present and lifted the lid. It wasn't a keychain. It was a pair of earrings, the bead blood-red in colour.
Natsume fiddled them in his fingers. "I got something pretty good," he said. Mikan looked at him, shocked at his words. "From someone like you." He emphasized 'you', but it didn't go unnoticed by the nullifier.
"Grr…" she growled. "What do you mean from someone like me?!" Natsume smirked.
"It means," Natsume said, "that even idiots can get nice things as gifts."
"NATSUME NO BAKA!!" Mikan yelled.
--
Mikan was all ready to sleep. Teeth brushed, hair combed, pajamas on, cream applied. She turned off her lights and buried herself underneath her covers of her bed. Soon, she drifted into her slumber.
However, there was only one thing she had forgotten to do. Something she had always forgotten to do those nights. She left her window open. A figure entered her window and sat beside the brunette who was fast asleep. This figure had bright red hair which shone in the moonlight. He touched the motionless figure by her face, cupping it in one of his hands. With a simple touch from him, the brunette awoke, her eyes lifeless and dull once more. She sat up slowly and looked at the figure.
"Come here," he called, not releasing his hand from her face. The brunette crawled towards him, and sat in front of him, facing him. "Good girl." The red-haired figure caressed her head softly and gently, making sure he didn't hurt her. "It won't be long till I'll really take you with me, so be patient." Mikan nodded, shutting her eyes and leaned on his shoulder.
The figure paused. But soon, he spoke again. "It's good I told you this order—before you were taken away by those idiots—so you would return to becoming my obedient puppet whenever I spoke or touched you even if your alice is on." He moved his fingers, touching the brunette's smooth cheeks. "If you dazed, you would be reminded of me. However when you come to your senses, the spell will be broken." The figure removed his hands from her cheeks and lowered it to her hand, holding it. "But when you're with me, the spell won't be broken till I'm gone… Isn't that right, Mikan?"
"Hai," the brunette spoke, "Reo-sama."
--
The next day…
KRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!
The brunette got up groggily, slapping her alarm clock to make the sound stop and rose from her bed. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and opened them. The hazel brown eyes shone in the sunlight, looking like light brown gems. She yawned and walked to her toilet, getting ready. Mikan entered the showers and allowed the water to flow onto her skin. The warm water was inviting. After taking a shower, she got dressed into her uniform and tied her hair to the back into a ponytail. She left her fringe dangling on her face, and smiled at herself in the mirror.
"Okay!" she said enthusiastically. "Time to go for school!"
--
The classroom was noisy as usual. Nothing unordinary there. Then, the door banged open. "Ohayou, minna!" a cheerful brunette stood there, grinning happily. The raven-haired boy who usually never looked away from his manga took a slight peek. Ruka smiled at her, inviting her over to sit next to him and his best friend. Hotaru gave a small smile, clearly aware that the brunette seemed to be much better than before. In fact, when she came in, everyone had a small smile for the girl.
"Ah! Hotaru," Mikan called out happily. The inventor looked at her best friend with her purple eyes lighting up slightly. The brunette was like a sun in the class. A person who made people feel happy. A person who would be there when someone was down. The only person who was always cheerful no matter what.
"Here!" Mikan said, handing the inventor a present. Hotaru took it and started opening it.
"It's a bracelet with the letters 'BFF'" a voice said. Mikan snapped her head to the person who spoke. "Mikan says, 'I hope you like it, Hotaru'." Koko. He had his goofy smile on again.
"Grr…" Mikan growled. Her eyes flaring up. "Koko! You're not supposed to tell her!" Mikan chased after the mind-reader who started laughing while running away from her.
Hotaru took out the bracelet and wore it. A small smile formed on her lips, but wasn't able to be seen by others.
"Ah… Mikan," a voice called. Mikan stopped chasing Koko and turned to look at the blonde boy. Ruka smiled at her. "Arigatou, for the keychain," he said, pointing at the keychain that was dangling from his pencil box.
Mikan? The entire classroom stopped. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the two. When had the blonde boy start calling the brunette by her name instead of her surname? Soon, the entire class had evil grins (except Natsume and Hotaru). The blonde had finally taken a step forward…
"Ah, I'm glad you like it," Mikan replied, grinning. Ruka blushed lightly, not as dark as usual, now that he was getting used to the brunette.
"Ruka…" The class chorused… Ruka turned, facing the class and gasped at the amount of evil grins aimed at him. Ruka sweat-dropped.
"You took a step!"
"Ruka, you devil!"
"What did you do to her, huh?"
All these shouts made Ruka blush uncontrollably. "I-I didn't do anything…"
"Liar!!" The class laughed. The blonde was going redder. And redder. And redder.
"Oi," Natsume spoke, breaking the laughter in class. "Shut up, it's noisy." The class went silent. But there was always one person who didn't listen to him.
"What's with you?" Mikan asked, still smiling. "Don't be so moody!" And when one started, more came.
"Yeah, Natsume!" Koko grinned.
"Lighten up!" Kitsuneme joined in as he started floating around in class.
"Yeah! Yeah!"
A vein popped on Natsume's head. Before he could say anything, Narumi entered class.
"Okay! Everyone, we'll be rehearsing again!" Narumi called out to the entire class.
"HAI!!" they yelled out. Natsume sighed, annoyed.
--
Acting (:
"Airi, who would you choose, Touka or me?" Riku asked, taking the brunette by her hand. His turquoise blue eyes glittered, showing love and compassion, truly asking the brunette.
"I-I… I don't know," Airi stuttered. "R-Riku-sama, I—"
"You can't choose him," Touka protested sarcastically. "You must choose me…"
"But I—!" Airi cried.
"I challenge you then, Riku…!" Touka said, his voice flat and expressionless.
"Eh?! No, no fighting!" Airi protested, her eyes almost tearing.
"I accept," Riku replied boldly.
"No! You two must not fight!" The blonde turned to look at her and cupped her face in his hands.
Squeals could be heard coming from the audience. The raven-haired boy twitched at his best friend's sudden move which had no hesitance in it.
"Airi," he said softly and lovingly, "please understand."
"But still! Fighting is not the way, Touka-sama, Riku-sama!!" Airi yelled in an anxious voice, her tears forming, threatening to fall.
"Whoa," a whisper from behind came. "When did Mikan get so good at acting?"
"Airi, you do realize that we're doing all of this for you," Touka said, his voice suddenly becoming stronger.
"Airi-chan," Riku said, bringing her face closer to his, "You must understand you have to choose me," he said the words slowly and passionately. The brunette could feel her cheeks burning up. The usual blonde boy was timid and shy. But now, right in front of her, he looked so serious. His turquoise blue eyes shining up like gems—shining as if he was really in love. His eyes were soft and gentle, telling her everything was fine. "Because I love you." The boy sounded so sure. So confident. The brunette was speechless.
"…"
"And cut!"
Clap.
Clap!
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
(end of acting)
The entire classroom was filled with applauds and claps. They soon crowded around Ruka and Mikan.
"Wow, Ruka!! You sounded so serious!"
"Mikan! Amazing! You actually cried!"
"Natsume," Narumi called. The raven-haired boy was sitting beside the window, leaning on the wall. His eyes narrowed when the teacher called him. "You have to act with more emotion! We won't be getting anywhere like this."
"Shut up, gay freak," Natsume said, his voice deep and somehow angered.
"Natsume," Mikan said, looking at him sort of anxiously. "Cheer up! What's with you!? Come on!" she yelled cheerfully. "See? Even Ruka-pyon can do this!" she said, hugging Ruka from behind.
"W-What do you mean even me?!" Ruka protested. Everyone started laughing. A few people whistled at the two.
Natsume got up and headed to the door. "W-Wait! Natsume, where are you—?" Mikan called. Just then, the bell rang.
"Class is over," Natsume informed them and left.
"What's wrong with him?" Mikan asked.
"I don't know," Kitsuneme replied.
"Natsume…" Ruka whispered anxiously.
"A-Ano, Ruka-pyon," Mikan called. Ruka turned to face the brunette. "Want to come with me?"
"Eh? Where to?" the blonde asked, blushing at the fact the girl he liked was asking him to follow her somewhere. "Ah, I mean, I'll come… I'm free after all…"
"Okay, let's go?" Mikan asked.
"Ah, hai."
When the two had left, the class erupted into applause and whistles. "GO RUKA!" the chorused. They laughed happily and cheered. This was definitely the blonde's day.
--
"Where are we going to?" the blonde finally asked.
"I think we'd better check up on Natsume," the brunette suggested. "After all, Ruka-pyon is Natsume's best friend," she said, turning to face the blonde and smiled.
"Ah… Yeah," Ruka agreed. Natsume was acting odd. And Ruka was determined to find out why. The fire-caster never usually said anything. But with Mikan there, he might just reveal what he was bothered about.
Then they reached the sakura tree. The fire-caster lay on it, reading his manga.
"N-Natsume," the girl called. Natsume looked at her and saw his best friend standing next to her. He hopped down.
"What's wrong, Ruka?" he asked, ignoring the brunette.
"Ch-Chotto! I'm talking here!" Mikan protested.
"…"
"Ah!" Mikan squealed. Natsume and Ruka turned to look at her. Mikan was being carried, her eyes wide with shock.
"If you're going to be mean, I'll be taking her away," a voice said.
"Tsubasa-senpai!" Mikan said cheerfully. Tsubasa was holding her bridal style.
"Did you forget? its SA class now," Tsubasa informed Mikan.
"Oh yeah!" Mikan gasped. "G-Gomen, Tsubasa-senpai! Did you come all the way here just to get me?"
"Yeah," Tsubasa replied, "Because you're the one who keeps us alive, remember?" Tsubasa gave a twinkling wink at her, making Natsume and Ruka twitch.
"Ah… G-Gomen…" Mikan apologized.
"If you're so sorry, maybe you can kiss me as an apology," Tsubasa grinned at his kouhai.
"Eh…?" Mikan asked, confused. Tsubasa brought the girl who was in his arms closer to him and lowered his head closer to her. Ruka watched with anxiety, and was about to protest.
Whack!
"Ouch!" the shadow-manipulator yelled and grabbed the girl with one arm, swinging her onto his shoulder to make sure she wouldn't fall before using his other hand to rub the back of his head. Mikan looked at the floor, spotting a manga.
"Ch-Chotto, Natsume! What are you doing to Tsubasa-senpai?" Mikan asked, annoyed. The raven-haired boy turned around, putting his hands in his pockets and left the scene.
"Natsume!" Ruka called, and ran after his best friend.
"That hurt," Tsubasa said, letting down his kouhai while rubbing the back of his head.
Mikan turned to her senpai and rushed to the back of him. She placed her hand on his, where the pain was. "Are you okay, Tsubasa-senpai?" she asked, her hazel brown eyes filled with anxiety. Her fringe dangled onto her cheek and her lips full with the colour pink. The brunette looked utterly cute—and or beautiful—and would make many guys around her blush. No one noticed, but the shadow-manipulator's face blushed slightly before he grinned, making his face return to his normal colour.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said. "Shall we go now?"
"Yeah!"
Chapter ended! It didn't take too long to update this time xD… I'm not too sure about the next chapter though. I've got some work to do before my school holidays end and I've got to start sometime. Ahah, I'll be waiting for reviews, by the way. I didn't get that many from my previous chapter and am looking forward for some in this one. Hehe… Tsubasa-senpai blushed xD … Natsume got jealous xD… Hope you liked this chapter.
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