Hey everyone, a big thank you to those who have been constantly reviewing and faving the other stories I've written, especially to crimsoneyes44 and Carolllll. You guys have been a great encouragement:D And to all those who have reviewed too. Please continuing reviewing:D

Okay so my end year examinations are in exactly 42 days. So I've decided to go on a hiatus until my examinations are over. Chapter 11 might come only after then. Emphasis on the word 'might'. I hope everyone who has been following this story will be patient with me:D Once again a big thank you to you guys:D

I sound really serious here o.o idk why. haha okay anyway here's Chapter 10! I'm rather pleased with how this came out. Please review!

Chapter 9

Except for lone figure standing in the middle of the floor.

This spells trouble.

Chapter 10

Mikan and Natsume stood on the roof, peering into the sky window for some time, observing the woman who stood in the empty warehouse. She seemed to be expecting someone, but whom? The area around the Headquarters was peaceful, and there were no vehicles moving about near the vicinity. Natsume cursed inwardly as he thought of several possibilities, and arrived at one.

"She's waiting for us."

Mikan nodded in agreement.

Right at that moment, the woman whipped around and fired something from her hand. Natsume and Mikan raised their arms to cover their faces as the sky window shattered, sending fragments of glass flying. Natsume frowned when he caught sight of the icicle which shattered the window. Both pressed their bodies against the roof by the side of the sky window, each trying to formulate a plan. Mikan hesitated for a second when she saw Natsume pointing towards the sky window, meaning that they were to charge in.

At the count of three, they leapt through the window. Mikan formed a Nullification barrier around herself and Natsume as he unleashed fire balls from his palms towards the woman. Mikan's powers had improved steadily over the years and had mastered the skill of forming a one-way Nullification barrier, where it would protect her from Alice attacks, yet at the same time enabling one to unleash attacks through the barrier towards the enemies. But of course, training up this skill didn't go too fluently.

Flashback

"Okay, Polka. Let's put it to the test."

"But what if…"

"You won't know unless you try."

Mikan closed her eyes and focused. Natsume nodded in satisfaction as a bright blue light surrounded them. It stabilized after a few seconds, resulting in them being enclosed in a blue shield, emitting a soft glow. Mikan slowly opened her eyes and grinned, triumphant.

"Good job. Now brace yourself, I'll try attacking."

"Hai…"

Natsume held out his palm and a fire ball formed; growing bigger as each moment passed. Mikan panicked for a while.

"Ne Natsume… I think it's a little too-"

It was too late; Natsume hurled the ball towards the shield before Mikan could stop him. They held their breaths as came into contact with the shield… and bounced back. Mikan shrieked as the fire ball hurtled back towards them. The shield disappeared as Mikan nullified the fire on her shorts and Natsume's shirt.

"Gomenasai Natsume!"

"It wasn't even supposed to bounce back."

Mikan shrugged and smiled.

"Let's try it again! But we have to start small."

"Sure."

End of Flashback

The woman leapt and dodged the attacks smoothly. They stood face to face for a few seconds and studied the opponent. Mikan remained silent as she analysed the woman. She wore a half mask similar to Persona's, only that it was black in colour. There was something about this woman that felt familiar, but Mikan couldn't place her finger on it. Shoving those thoughts aside, Mikan and Natsume ran towards their opponent in unison. Natsume threw a fire ball at her; and she dodged it swiftly, bending down as the fire ball flew past her, letting her guard down for a split second. Her eyes widened when she saw Mikan fist closing in at her stomach. She grimaced at the impact. They lived up to their reputation; and her little Mikan sure was a fighter.

She retreated a few steps from the duo and composed herself.

"Do you even know why you're attacking me?"

"An eye for an eye. You attacked us first," Natsume growled.

"The name's Yuka, or as you might have know, the Head of the AAO. Does my name ring a bell, Mik-"

"Shiro Neko," Mikan interrupted.

Mikan took a few steps forward and aimed another punch, but this time, Yuka caught her wrist. Mikan frowned and aimed yet another punch with her free hand. Yuka maintained a stoic expression as she caught Mikan's other wrist; but inside, she was breaking up. She had failed. She had failed to accomplish her sole purpose in life. It was funny, how her purpose and reason to live could be so simple, but yet she had failed miserably at it. Yuka's attention was diverted to three fire balls heading her way. She analysed her situation; there was no other way out, but one.

It's time to show you, Mikan.

Mikan raised an eyebrow when she saw a familiar blue glow emitting from Yuka, causing the fire balls to disappear.

Who are you?

Back at the Academy

Ruka stared at the full moon for some time, his mind too clouded with thoughts to admire the sight before him. He was sitting on the roof of the boys' dormitories; the safest place to be, away from the detection of the cleaning robot which would cause a ruckus if a student were to be found outside their respective rooms. His eyes scanned the Northern forest for a split second, hoping to detect possibly movements from Mikan and Natsume; but none. Ruka sighed and leaned back, exhausted. He turned swiftly at the sound of someone else walking on the roof.

"Imai?"

Hotaru nodded as she sat down next to him, hugging her knees. Ruka turned his head back to the Northern Forest in silence. Hotaru studied him for awhile before turning to face the Forest.

"She'll be back safely."

"I'm still worried about her."

"She can be an idiot and a klutz at times, but she takes her missions seriously. Not a word from her about it even after a year. It shows how much she wants to protect Natsu-"

Hotaru stopped herself before finishing the sentence, not wanting to agitate Ruka just when she could spend some time with him alone. She felt guilty as she saw Ruka stiffen up; clenching his fists. His sky blue eyes seemed to be clouded with hatred and jealousy. Hotaru frowned upon seeing this; she knew, at that moment, that what he felt; it wasn't real.

"You want her that badly?"

"…"

"Deep down in your heart, do you actually love her?"

Ruka froze for a moment. Come to think about it, he had never thought about it as years passed. Did he actually love her? Wait, of course he did. Her laughter, her smile, her optimism was enough to catch anyone off guard and be warped by her innocence.

"Of course I do, more than anything else."

"Jealousy, and hatred for your best friend; doesn't seem to fit the definition of love. Think about it Nogi."

At this point, Hotaru knew that she wasn't trying to manipulate Ruka into thinking that Mikan wasn't the one he really loved. She, in fact, was speaking to him as a friend. Both Ruka and Mikan would end up hurt if he was to continue to be misled by his infatuation with her. After all, she did care about him. It didn't matter whether or not he reciprocated her feelings; what mattered was that he was in his right sense and judgment. Isn't that how one should care for another? Ruka finally turned and studied Hotaru. The moonlight illuminated her stoic face; and reflected her violet eyes. He had never taken a good look at Hotaru before, and now that he finally had, it seemed that she had grown into a beauty over the years. He snapped out of his trance only when Hotaru nodded curtly at him before retreating back to her room. As he watched her figure disappear from sight, his heart skipped a beat.

This is annoyingly confusing.

The Headquarters

Yuka stood facing Natsume and Mikan. She was still thinking about how she should talk to Mikan, but it was harder than she thought; seeing how aggressive the pair was.

"Mik-"

"Shiro Neko," Mikan corrected her, getting fed up as each moment passed.

"Fine. Your father-"

"I don't have one. Shut the hell up would you." Mikan retorted, throwing a punch at her.

Yuka dodged it successfully; this was exactly what she had wished never to see. No, not from Mikan; not from the bright and naïve girl she had seen growing up, watching her from afar. One of her biggest regrets in her life was not being able to bring up her daughter, having to leave her in the hands of Grandfather. It was the biggest responsibility one could ever take, and that was to have a child, and bring her up morally upright and just. Yuka undertook that responsibility, only to have dumped it aside halfway through. She hated herself for that. She sighed inwardly; she was doing this, now, for her daughter's sake, in hope to make up for abandoning her.

"Do you know, why the AAO is near its end?" Yuka started.

This definitely caught the attention of the duo. They stopped in their paths, still on guard, waiting to hear what Yuka had to say. Mikan frowned as Yuka approached her confidently. Yuka lifted her hands and started to remove Mikan's mask, only to have her hands roughly slapped away by Natsume.

"Anything, but the mask," Natsume warned, "You don't want to know about the consequences of removing it during the mission."

Yuka nodded and took a step back.

"I was a student at the Academy once. I fell in love with my sensei, who felt the same way towards me. It was the usual clichéd forbidden love. We were found out by the higher-ups of the Academy; and he died, the cause of it, the Academy. Ever since then, I hated the Academy. I hated it right down to the core." Yuka's voice trembled a little, and she composed herself.

"I left the Academy after that. I built the AAO from scratch, with its goal set to tear the Academy down. I wanted to protect the very last treasure I had, given by the only man I had ever loved. The AAO was this close; this close to accomplishing the goal and reason as to why it existed, but no. I found out that I had failed to protect her. I disbanded the AAO that very minute I found out, paid one of my men to wipe out the memories of every single one of my men, including Reo Mouri. It'll be as if everyone had woken up from a nightmare."

"How can we take your word for it?" Natsume pressed.

Yuka looked at him a while, and shifted her gaze back to Mikan.

"Why, Kuro Neko, trust."

Natsume rolled his eyes. A sudden thought crossed Yuka's mind, causing her to jerk her head up and glared at Natsume.

"It's because of you that she got into this mess, aren't I right?"

Natsume paused for a second. He didn't like the way how Yuka had phrased that. It was… the exact truth. He remained silent and returned the glare, bracing himself for combat. Yuka clenched her fist, swearing to beat the crap out of Natsume, for dragging Mikan into the darkness; into the Academy's dirty jobs. There was a slight pause. Natsume sensed an attack coming, and leapt into the air just in time before icicles emerged from the ground. He unleashed a blanket of fire over the icicles, melting them.

"It's your fault, Hyuuga. You'll pay," Yuka growled, sending more icicles flying towards Natsume.

"It's no use, we're equally matched," Natsume smirked.

Yuka smiled slyly. She raised her arms in the air, as if getting into position to summon something more powerful; and that she did. Lightning bolts appeared from her hands and flew towards Natsume, who was caught completely off guard. The bolts hit Natsume, enveloping him in a cloud of smoke. Yuka nodded in satisfaction.

"You have got to be kidding if you think that's the end."

The smoke cleared, revealing a blue shield surrounding Natsume; and Mikan, whom was responsible for protective shield over them. Yuka couldn't believe it. She couldn't comprehend as to why Mikan risked her life almost every other night.

"Why, Shiro Neko, why put your life on the line for the Academy?"

"It's none of your business."

"Mikan…"

"My name is Shiro Neko."

"It saddens me to see this happening to you…"

Mikan's heart skipped a beat as Yuka reached to pull of her mask, revealing her chocolate brown eyes.

"… my dearest daughter."

Mikan studied the woman standing in front of her. All her life, she believed that she was orphaned since birth; as her parents were 'stars in the sky', as Grandfather had said so, and had been brought up with the only kin she had ever known; Grandfather. Then, right now, in the midst of a mission, Yuka appears, claiming to be her mother. Heck, she looked exactly like Mikan only that it was evident that Yuka had aged gracefully. It was at that very moment that she finally understood what Narumi-sensei had meant when he had warned her to avoid getting her emotions involved during this mission. Mikan was confused; but she couldn't show it. How could she? She was Shiro Neko.

"Just before your father died, he told me to. He told me to take his Alice from him, as he didn't need it anymore; and that I should do everything thing I could to prevent our child from suffering the same fate as we did. I promised him that, Mikan. I promised him that I would keep you out of harm's way. I left you with Grandfather and built the AAO. The activities carried out delayed the Academy from finding you and taking you away with them. I was certain you were safe. After all, the Alice of Nullification is pretty hard to detect. That is, until I found out that you brought yourself to the Academy. That was the beginning of it all. I spied on you over the years, and I was happy to see that you have developed well in the Academy. I began to think that; maybe, just maybe you did belong to the Academy after all; as long as the Academy didn't get you involved with its dirty jobs."

Yuka's voice turned sour.

"Until I found out, only a few nights ago, that Kuro Neko's new sidekick, Shiro Neko, was you, Mikan Sakura. I swear my life crumbled at that very moment. My life's purpose was defeated right there and then. You changed, Mikan. You lost your innocence and purity. You lost it to the Academy's selfish actions, Mikan."

"Shut up will you. That's not even how it happened," Mikan snarled. "I chose to go for the missions. I chose to undergo the training, and eventually, missions. I knew that my Alice could help prevent injuries and wounds. I've seen it all; and you know what, I have never regretted going on missions."

Yuka studied her daughter for a second or too. It was obvious.

"You love him, don't you, so much so that you are willing to lay down your life for him?"

Natsume sensed Mikan stiffening up.

"It's not worth it, Mikan," Yuka warned, turning to Natsume. "It's your fault. It is all your fault. You'll pay, Hyuuga. You'll pay for doing this to her, and to us."

"Leave him out of this. I don't and never did have a mother like you, Yuka." Mikan spat.

At that moment, Mikan charged towards Yuka, aiming another punch at her. Yuka turned and raised her hand towards Mikan. Mikan gasp when she felt herself being thrown back against the wall by an invisible force. The impact was hard enough to knock Mikan out. Natsume seethed with anger upon seeing this, but still, the Kuro Neko doesn't reveal his emotions.

"The Steal Alice huh."

"Why, very good Kuro Neko. Now that you have figured it out, EAT THIS!"

With that, Yuka launched a full attack on him, throwing fire, ice, water, wind, and earth attacks on him, all at one go. Natsume cursed under his breath as he dodged the attacks, occasionally getting wounded by them, and responded to them by using his Fire Alice. After a fury of throwing and dodging, they stood face to face meters apart, both slightly panting. Yuka's lips curved into a smile as she dug into the pocket in her pants, pulling out a handful of sand. She flung them at Kuro Neko with the aid of her Wind Alice, covering him and the ground around him with traces of sand.

"Going so low to the extent of using dirty tricks?"

"Correction, Kuro Neko, it's one of my many Alices. Turning sand… into bombs."

Natsume's eyes widened in horror; it was too late. A mini explosion was set off, and Natsume could be seen crouched on the floor, bleeding profusely from the head. He counted himself lucky that the grains of sand were not clumped together, as it would have led to fatal results. Turning to Mikan, he saw her waking up. He knew that he just had to distract Yuka for a while more before Mikan could spring a surprise attack on her. He winced when he saw Yuka walking towards him.

"You've lost your Organization, and you've lost your daughter…" Natsume started. Tears spilled down Yuka's cheeks upon hearing this. She raised her leg and kicked Natsume in the stomach, causing him to cough up blood.

"It's not too late, to start over. As you've said, it would be like waking up from a nightmare. Do the same for you Yuka; save yourself."

Yuka bit her lip as her confidence and hope wavered for a second. She pulled herself together and her sorrow became anger; raging anger. She pulled Natsume to his feet roughly and held him by his collar. She tore his mask off, revealing his face. She smirked upon seeing his eyes filled with pain. She took a few steps away from him, raising her arms, forming icicles above two meters above where he was standing.

"It's too late, Kuro Neko. This is the least I can do for my daughter."

She lowered her arms, and gravity sent the icicles plummeting towards Natsume.

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