Not fated?

Chapter 11: Heart-to-heart talks

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice Academy/Gakuen Alice and I never will.

Note/Warning: Rated for safety. Expect OOCs and bad English. I'm assuming you know all the char. Natsume, Mikan and the gang are same age.

Sum: Natsume Hyuga and Mikan Sakura meet for the first time as normal people but are they really normal people? Nope! One is a vampire and the other is a vampire hunter, seemingly not fated to be together. And why does the vampire hunter hate vampires so much?

So sorry for that extremely, long, long, long, long~ wait! I was originally hindered from entering fanfic cause of some new security software in my com but when I found a solution, I was distracted by exams but my exams were distracted by other things so... SORRY! Anyway, well, here it is, Chapter 11. Hopefully I'll be more persevering in future. Please support me! TY!


Previously

Aoi went into her room and Mikan turned to Natsume. "So you're taking the middle room, Natsume? I have to warn you though... Chuckles I might fall off my bed and disturb you."

"Whatever." Natsume plainly said. "So Aoi deliberately chose the other room." Natsume smirked, knowing that 'Aoi was on his side'.

He walked ahead and entered the room. Mikan just stared questionably.

Central Town, after dinner

"Thank you." The girls, except Hotaru, thanked the three other girls who paid for their huge meal.

If they even brought a cent less, they would've ended up washing the dishes. "We're going home now." Wakako grumbled. Actually, the three wanted to stay since Natsume, Ruka and Aoi were there but they couldn't afford to pay for another meal... literally.

"Let's go shopping!" Aoi said excitedly, grabbing the arm of the nearest person, who was Misaki. She pulled Misaki away. "She wants to go shopping on a school night?" Mikan asked. "I need to buy some things too." Hotaru said. "Nogi, where's the electronics store?" She turned to Ruka. He smiled. "Ah, I'll take you there. I need to go to the pet store and it's just next door."

"Fine." Hotaru and Ruka walked off.

"Good. We're alone." Natsume muttered. "Hm...? You said something, Natsume?" Mikan asked. "I need to talk to you... in private." "In private?" Mikan asked innocently. "But we're alone now, aren't we?"

"There're too many people around." Natsume said, glancing at the other people walking past them. "Okay, let's go to Northern Woods then." Mikan rubbed her head and sweatdropped. "That's the only place I know that has very little people."

"Hn. I was thinking about going there too."

Northern Woods

"Okay, we're here now... So what'd you wanna talk about?" Mikan asked. "Bite me." Natsume plainly said.

"Huh...?"

"Bite me." Natsume repeated. "You said I'll turn into a full vampire if I'm bitten by a pureblood... You're a pureblood, so bite me."

"But... What about Aoi?" Mikan asked worriedly.

"I'll take care of her later. Right now, I want to be able to look at my girlfriend without her using her alice all the time."

"But it's no trouble nullifying your transformation." She said. "And I don't know if you're strong enough to change yourself into a human. If you can't change, you can't go to school. I don't think the other Dangerous Abilities would like to find out that their iincho is a vampire."

"You're the most powerful vampire, right? So doesn't being bitten by you help at all?" He asked stoically.

"It does but-" Natsume cut her off. "Then just do it."

"But-" He cut her off again. "Do it or I'll kiss you." He smirked. Mikan blushed and panicked. "N-No! ...Fine, I'll do it." Natsume smirked again. She didn't have the slightest clue that Natsume was going to kiss her either way.

Mikan transformed. She went up to him and held his shoulders. She slowly sank her fangs into his skin. Natsume winced when her sharp fangs stopped sinking deeper and she started drinking his blood. She didn't really drink them though. The first encounter was because she was pissed and extremely thirsty. This time, she simply drank a little but made sure that it was enough for Natsume to become an official vampire and not a hybrid anymore.

Mikan slowly disengaged her two fangs, wiped her mouth and transformed back to her human form. Natsume's appearance didn't have much change.

"Ano, can you turn to human?" Mikan asked. Natsume shrugged. He closed his eyes and tried to transform, using the same method he used when he was a hybrid but it wasn't as easy. For someone to transform into a human, right after becoming a vampire, is very hard. It is almost impossible, especially if you're bitten by a non-pureblood vampire. Fortunately for Natsume, he was bitten by Mikan. Not only did Mikan being the most powerful help him, her youth and the fact that he, once a half vampire, also helped.

"You did it!" Mikan said and smiled as Natsume opened his eyes. "Ah, I forgot to tell you... Once you turn to human, it can only last for five days. You'll turn back again at midnight of the sixth day." Natsume said nothing, knowing that she has more to tell him.

"You can stop the transformation halfway but you'll need 24 hours of rest before you can turn to human again. Urm..." Mikan started thinking of what else she needed to tell him. "Oh yeah..." She said. "There is one way that lets you transform without waiting for 24 hours, I learnt it from my uncle. Smiles You'll need a lot of power for that... willpower, that is. It is quite tiring the first time I tried it. And if try it but your willpower isn't enough, it might hurt. I'll show you."

Mikan took a few steps away. Her wings cocooned her body and as usual, she turned back to human. "I've already seen you do that yesterday." Natsume said. "...You don't drink human blood, right?" He suddenly asked.

"Yeah... Why?" She tilted her head to one side. "What do you drink if there're no animals around?" He nonchalantly asked as he sat on the grass. "Blood pills. They're tasteless to me but Hotaru and Misaki nee-san say they're terrible."

"Tch. So they really are vampires."

"You already knew? How did you know?" Mikan asked, sitting next to Natsume and staring at him.

"You're easy to read, polka-dots." Natsume smirked.

"Don't call me polka-dots!" She shouted. "Anyway..." She continued. "No one knows you're a vampire yet."

"I told Ruka. I told him about you, too... your vampire self." He said, plainly.

"Eh?"

"But he doesn't know that you are the vampire."

Sigh Mikan was relieved; she wouldn't know how to face Ruka otherwise. "...Urm, I don't think I left out anything, did I?" She asked herself. "Ah! What about the Dangerous Abilities class?"

"Just act normal, polka-dots." Natsume nonchalantly answered.

Pout "If you're going to call me that, I'm leaving!" Mikan stood up and stomped off. Natsume stared at her with a smirk on his face.

"He's always calling me 'polka-dots'. He's such a pervert! And every time I walk off, he'll catch up with me then kiss me... Hentai!" Mikan shouted in her head.

"Eh... This is strange..." Mikan stopped walking and turned around, looking for Natsume. "He should've caught up by now... Did something happen to him? ...Chotto matte. The Dangerous Abilities aren't in school and there's no noise so he can't be fighting with anyone. Sweatdrop If Hotaru was here. She'd say 'Baka. For once, you're thinking too much.' ...She's right. Natsume is fine..." Mikan turned in front again and banged something.

She looked up and was obviously surprised. "When did you get here? Why didn't I hear you?"

"I've got my ways." He smirked. "So what were you turning behind for?" His smirk grew.

Mikan spoke in an innocent tone. "Well, you always catch up with me then you'll kiss me. But this time, you didn't show up... until now, that is."

"So you want me to kiss you." Natsume smirked again.

"...No! I just thought something happened!" Mikan protested. Her protest was ignored and Natsume kissed her. It is official; this is an enjoyable habit and hobby of his.

They broke the kiss. "Hey! Don't go around kissing me like that! Hentai!"

Natsume simply smirked, quite satisfied, and they started making their way home.

Next day

"Mikan!" Misaki called.

"Hai!" Mikan replied and entered the kitchen where Misaki was making breakfast for the long awaited guest.

"Okay, I woke up a little late so I've only managed to make some pancakes."

"Honto?" Mikan shouted excitedly. "Your pancakes are the best! ...Where's Hotaru?" She asked.

"She changed her mind. She went to school with Aoi. I don't know about Natsume though. But I think he's already left... Ah! And Hotaru said something about an incomplete invention for a festival or something like that. So she left extra early. She also said that she'll help me with the enrollment procedures. I should be able to start school on Monday."

"That's great..." Mikan said, trying not to drool over the pancakes.

Misaki took the pancakes and went to the dining room, with Mikan following very close behind.

"Oh~! Is that Misaki's delicious pancakes I smell?" A voice said from behind.

The girls turned around. "Okaa-san~!" Mikan shouted happily, running to her mother.

"Ohayo oba-san." Misaki beamed.

"Ohayo~!" Yuka greeted back while hugging Mikan close. "So... where's Hotaru-chan?"

"She's in school."

"I see. Why don't we eat these pancakes first?" Yuka suggested, motioning them to the table.

-+!+-

"So... what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Mikan asked.

Breakfast was over and the dishes were done so Mikan and Misaki proceeded to the living room where Yuka was seated.

"I've heard some... disturbing news..." Yuka said seriously.

"What news?" Mikan tilted her head.

"It seems that Reo is dead and Mihara was found seriously injured. I also saw Mihara leading an army of vampires out of the realm." Yuka stared at Mikan as she spoke. "And if I remember correctly, Mihara only fights you. Even if he did fight with someone else, he would never bring an army along."

Mikan, by now, was shaking in nervousness while Misaki could hardly believe her ears.

"So, Mikan... care to explain? ...What happened?" Yuka asked, obviously concerned. "Did she come out?"

Misaki turned to face Mikan with wide eyes, waiting for an answer. Mikan hesitated for a while but eventually nodded her head, facing the floor. Misaki gasped. "She came out?" She thought.

"Because he attacked Natsume!" Mikan blurted out.

"Eh? Natsume was with you when Mihara attacked?" Misaki exclaimed.

"Who's Natsume?"

"Uh... There's this girl named Aoi, she's our friend and Natsume's her older brother. They're staying here for a while since their mom's not around." Misaki explained.

"...But if she came out while that Natsume was around... doesn't that mean he knows you're a vampire?"

Mikan nodded again, causing Misaki to gasp in shock again. Misaki suddenly had a look of disappointment "...And I was excited about finally going to the alice school..." Misaki muttered.

"Since a human knows you're a vampire, he'll eventually find out about Misaki and Hotaru too. We have to leave this place. The rest of us will teach you about your alices. We might be good at teaching but it's much better than staying here any longer." Yuka said and stood up firmly.

"But where'll they stay if we're gone?" Mikan asked worriedly. "They have nowhere to stay!"

"We'll give them the house. We've got to go now, Mikan. We have to fetch Hotaru-chan also."

"But Natsume won't tell anyone!"

"You can't be sure of that, for all you know, he might be a vampire hunter." Yuka grabbed Mikan's wrist and pulled her towards the front door. Misaki followed behind with an upset face.

"No... I don't want to go home!" Mikan protested, struggling to be free from Yuka's grasp. "Mikan! You know it's dangerous here if a human finds out about us! Especially since you go to Alice Academy, I know they have a class for vampire hunters!"

"But I'm in that class too! They-"

"All the more we should leave! If that Natsume spreads word about-"

"He's a vampire too!" Mikan finally shouted out. Everything seemed as if time had frozen for a moment as the two older females stared at Mikan in shock. They were momentarily speechless.

"WHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT?"

Sweatdrop Mikan was a little relieved that the situation wasn't so tense now.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Yuka spoke. "Don't tell me you... I mean she bit him..."

"Urm... Not exactly..." Mikan said, scratching the back of her head. They went back to sit down. Mikan started explaining almost everything. She only left out the part where Natsume and she were together.

"So it's like that, huh?" Misaki commented, staring at the ground just like the rest of them. "But he's a vampire hunter, right?"

"Not anymore... I guess..." Mikan replied.

Once again, there was a moment of silence. Even someone with the Super Hearing alice wouldn't be able to hear anything.

The terrifying and awkward silence broke when Yuka spoke. "...I still don't want you to stay here. Putting that Natsume guy aside... You're in the class of vampire hunters. It's not safe."

"Natsume's in charge of that class, so it's okay." Mikan smiled a little.

Sigh "You won't listen to me no matter what I say, right?" Yuka turned to Misaki, "You'll have to take care of each other in Alice Academy, okay? If there're any problems, you must go home immediately, okay? All our relatives were and are alices so we can teach you the basics should there be a need to do so..."

Mikan nodded happily.

"I have to go now." Yuka said, standing up.

"Bye~! Visit us again soon!" Mikan waved, seeing her mother out of the house.

Misaki simply smiled and gave a small wave. For some reason, it was as if they would not see Yuka for a long time.

"So..." Misaki suddenly said as they went to sit down again. "About Natsume..."

"...Ah! M-Misaki nee-san! L-Let's train your alice now!" Mikan panicked, trying to change the subject. "It's been a long time since you've used it, right? Since we've got the whole day, let's start now!" She starting pushing Misaki to the kitchen.

"Hey..." A voice suddenly said.

The two girls turned around and got a shock. "Natsume's still home?"

"What are you doing here?" They shouted.

"Tch. I'm going to be staying here for a while, aren't I?" Natsume replied.

"Why aren't you in school?" Mikan asked.

"I overslept... But someone was shouting so loudly, so I woke up. It must be you, polka-dots." Natsume smirked.

"It wasn't me!" Mikan shouted.

"She's right, Natsume." Misaki said with a smile on face. "For once, it wasn't her. It was her mother though."

Natsume raised a brow and stared at Mikan, waiting for an explanation.

"Good luck explaining everything, Mikan. I'm going to exercise for a while." Misaki said as she left.

Once Misaki was out of the house Mikan went to sit on the sofa and Natsume followed suit.

"Okaa-san came because she found out about Reo and Mihara. I explained everything to her and Misaki nee-san so they know everything about us."

"Everything?" Natsume asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Hai." Mikan said. "...Ah! But okaa-san still doesn't know about... urm... us."

Natsume smirked, he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"What do you mean 'us'?" He deliberately teased her.

Mikan blushed and looked down at her lap. "You know what I mean... Us..."

"Like I said... What about us?" He patiently waited for a response, for once... solely for his own amusement.

"F-Forget it! If you don't even know that... t-then I'm leaving!" Mikan stood up and made her way to her room.

Natsume caught her by the wrist. "Hey, we're going on a date today."

"Eh? W-Why?" Mikan asked, blushing as usual.

"Isn't it obvious? Today's a Saturday and there's nothing to do here." He answered nonchalantly.

"But didn't the school make it a must for students to go to school today because there isn't enough time for the preparations?" Mikan tilted her head.

"Tch. We're not supposed to help out in the first place."

"But-" She said, trying to protest but got cut off instead.

"If you don't go on a date with me, you'll have to make up for it." Natsume smirked.

Suspicious of his smirk, Mikan rushed up the stairs at top speed, "I-I'm going to get ready!"

-+!+-

When Mikan had finally returned to the living room, Natsume was still waiting for her patiently, leaning against the wall next to the front door. He was in a great mood although his stoic face doesn't show it.

"So where are we going?" Mikan asked, practically hopping up to him due to her extreme excitement.

"Don't know." Natsume replied, much to the brunette's disappointment, causing her to pout.

"If you didn't know where to go, why did you ask to go out in the first place?" She complained, still pouting.

Natsume didn't bother to respond. All was silent for a moment or two till Mikan spoke up. "Why not..." She hesitated, staring at the ground as if reconsidering a decision she had silently made.

Natsume stared at her with his trademark poker face. "What is it?"

Mikan spoke up again but with a more determined voice and facial expression this time around. "Why not we talk to Aoi today?"

To Mikan's HUGE surprise, Natsume's face showed one of an indecisive and worried person. It was as if he had a mental war going on in his head.

"What's wrong? You were going to tell her sooner or later, right? There's not much difference if we tell her today or some other day. She has the right to know." She wisely said, shocking Natsume although he managed to hide it.

"I don't know how she'll take it." Natsume finally said.

He sighed and detached himself from the wall and went to sit on the couch. Mikan sensed he had something important to tell her so she went and sat next to him with a curious look on her face.

"Our father..." Natsume started, "...was killed by a vampire."

Mikan stared at Natsume in horror. Her expression soon changed to one of understanding. "So that's why you hate vampires so much." She mumbled as she turned her attention to the floor, assuming the same position Natsume was in, that is, with her arms resting on her legs and her fingers intertwined with each other.

"Yeah, at first. I thought all of them were just monsters, killing without hesitation or even reason. I thought I was right when all the vampires I came across were... Well, let's just say they were despicable."

"I see..." Was all Mikan could say.

"Our father's death was a huge blow to Aoi. She cried every day for weeks. She consistently shouted about how she would kill all vampires to avenge his death but was actually too afraid to even go near the leeches."

"So," Mikan muttered, "you couldn't stand seeing her in pain and decided to help her, and yourself, to avenge your dad's death?" She asked, although it was more of a statement. She went on, "The attitudes of the vampires you met fueled your hatred for us, right? To the extent that you did more than just avenge your dad's death... Aoi felt you did enough but you didn't listen and kept leaving for the Northern Woods late in the night. And when you became more and more worn out and your heart became filled with immense hatred for almost everything and everyone, Aoi couldn't take it anymore and decided to feign illness to stop you. And that was what occurred that day."

Natsume was surprised and impressed at the same time. Mikan had such a clear and accurate description of what had happened. His crimson eyes stared widely at hers. Noticing his surprised yet curious look, she sighed, not a trace of her usual childishness or innocent cluelessness was to be seen.

"I didn't read your mind or anything... I know and understand your situation all too well. I experienced the exact same thing long ago. But..." She suddenly said, letting out a huge sigh, "There's one thing you should know. I'm not sure if you know it already but Aoi still hates vampires. Not because of your father but because of you, Natsume. Of course, she hates the vampire who killed him but she hates all vampires because they turned you into a cold-blooded person who would endanger his life to get rid of the 'leeches'." Mikan informed, quoting Natsume from earlier. She added seriously, "I'm sure of it."

The raven-haired boyfriend of hers slowly changed his expression, showing more concern than surprise as he waited for Mikan to begin the story he knew she was going to tell.

"Otou-san was also killed but not by another vampire... He was murdered by a hunter."

Natsume slightly twitched and frowned, despite already knowing the cause of her father's death.

"He was murdered right in front of me." Mikan whispered, tears forming in her eyes as she recalled the incident.

Just before Natsume could react to comfort her, Mikan took a deep breath and turned to look at Natsume. "Basically, my experience was the same as yours." She gave a smile but her teary eyes betrayed her. Once again, before anything could be done, she continued. "Although I did not kill countless humans to avenge otou-san, I overdid it when I drained the hunter of all his blood and when I attacked random vampires in the realm. I had already transformed to her by then so I was berserk. I somehow managed to return to normal but that incident caused everyone in the realm to be wary of me. I was about 5 years old at that time so no one challenged me to duels like they've done up until recently but as I grew older, I trained more to gain the strength to protect my loved ones and people began to notice my power. No one knows this but... I had actually 'stolen' Tono nii-san's alice weeks after I started my training. Honestly, I didn't know he was an alice and, apparently, neither did he."

Natsume raised a brow.

As an explanation, Mikan's response was "I realised my training was getting me nowhere, except to detention at vampire school for skipping classes... So I was asking him to help train me which he of course agreed to. I was so happy he agreed that I grabbed him in excitement."

Frown Natsume was filled with annoyance at her last words.

Ignoring him, or possibly not noticing, she spoke. "While grabbing him, I felt something form in my palms. When I looked at my hands, I saw a weird stone. Then, it just slowly disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yeah... But it was more like it faded away. We didn't understand what happened but when I got older and learned how to steal and insert stones, I realised the stone was Tono nii-san's alice stone and I had inserted it into myself. When I found out, I immediately told him but he said he doesn't and won't need it and forced me to promise to keep it even when I find out how to return it. I also kind of took Misaki nee-san's alice and she was extremely upset even though she desperately tried to deny it."

There was a long pause for a while. Both of them were temporarily lost in their own thoughts.

"Anyway," Mikan said, finally breaking the silence. "After the stone had faded away into my body, I noticed a great improvement in my abilities. I eventually found out Tono nii-san's alice was the Amplification alice." She stopped for a short moment before speaking again. "As you should have guessed by now, people started noticing my strength and challenged me, with an increasing amount of challengers as time passed."

After their heart-to-heart talk was over, Natsume grabbed her shoulder and held her close, finally able to properly comfort her. He gave a kiss on the forehead and for once, Mikan didn't blush at all. In fact, it was as if she did not notice it but she did, of course. She leaned her head against his chest and tears began to well up again. It was very upsetting for her to recall the past but she felt so reassured and secured in his arms that her tears were beginning to change from tears of sadness to tears of joy.

-+!+-

Sweatdrop

"Uh... Misaki nee-san..." Mikan asked, staring at the scene before her.

"Hai? What is it?" Misaki asked, without turning to look at the brunette.

The two had barely taken 3 steps out of the house before they were stopped by the over-exaggerated scene before them. Mikan was sweatdropping while Natsume remained stoic although his eyebrows were slightly raised. "So they are the strong girls these guys were talking about, after all."

"What are you doing?" Mikan asked, looking at all the people who were surrounding Misaki...

"Ah, they're helping me exercise..." Misaki said, taking a glance at Mikan. "Well... Let's just say they decided to help me with my exercise?" She said with a cheeky smile on her face.

Just as she ended her sentence, the violent gang members started attacking her at once. They had obviously seen Mikan but they had such strong feelings of hatred and pride against Misaki that it overwhelmed their fear of the cute-and-innocent-looking brunette.

"Anyway, don't mind us... Where are you two going?" The older female asked, not taking her eyes of her little 'toys' as they lounged at her and effortlessly dodging them.

"We're going to school to find Aoi. Wanna come with us to see the school? I'll give you a tour while looking for Aoi." Mikan smiled.

"Sure! But what's so urgent that you need to look for her?"

"Well, we have to break the news to her sooner or later... About Natsume's current... condition."

"You mean she still doesn't know?" Misaki raised her brows.

"Yeah..."

With all the gangsters in the area helping each other, Misaki had her hands full but she could definitely handle it with ease.

"Jeez, it's getting kind of annoying." She complained. "I knock 10 out and 20 come back. What kind of neighbourhood is this? It's getting troublesome."

Sweatdrop

"Misaki nee-san... Even though you say that, you're still decreasing the number of reinforcements they have. Not to mention you seem to be having fun."

Misaki seemed to be flying; hardly touching the ground as she counterattacked and evaded at the same time, jumping over her weak adversaries. When she did had contact with the brick floor, it was as if she was weightless; tapping the ground with her toes before lifting herself into the air and knocking out yet another opponent.

"Would you hurry up?" Natsume asked, slightly scowling but trying to suppress his annoyance for Mikan's sake.

Fortunately, Misaki was quite easy-going and didn't take it to heart. "Sure!"

Just as the men readied themselves for their attacks and charged towards her, Natsume spoke up again. "Why the hell is that idiot here?"

At his cold words, the men froze, much to Misaki's surprise and dismay. They did so not out of fear but because there was an unseen force holding them back. What was strange was that the active pink-haired girl, who was in the middle of the mob, was not in the least bit affected.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked as she poked the cheek of the guy nearest to her.

Mikan was surprised too while Natsume showed no emotion though his voice clearly announced how irritated he was. "Just show yourself already." He scowled again, fixing his eyes on someone in the middle of the stiff mob.

"Who's here?" Mikan asked inquisitively, turning her head towards where Natsume was glaring at.

Misaki followed suit, wondering who could have hindered her fight without both her and Mikan's knowledge.

"Who's an idiot?" A familiar voice asked, his cheeky grin easily heard through his words.

The guy stood up from where he was squatting and revealed himself.

"Tsubasa-sempai~!" Mikan yelled in excitement.

She tried to run towards him but a certain someone grabbed her shirt, holding her back.

"Natsume~~ Let me go!" She squealed.

She was ignored.

"Hey, are you all right?" Tsubasa asked Misaki after walking up to her.

"I'm fine, why?" She tilted her head slightly in surprise. It had been a long time since someone last asked her that question; she being a strong (and violent) vampire and all.

"I saw these people trying to attack you." He answered, eyeing the motionless troublemakers who were by then sweatdropping due to nervousness and worry.

"Jeez, Natsume. How can you just stand there and watch when a girl's being attacked?" Tsubasa sighed as he shook his head.

That earned him a "shut up" from the flame caster.

"I mean, I saw you beat up some of these guys very effectively but still..." He continued, referring to Misaki. "You should refrain from violence. You're a girl after all."

"You're an alice, right? What's your alice?" Misaki curiously asked.

"I have the Shadow Manipulation Alice."

"Shadow Manipulation?" Misaki thought for a while. "But how come I'm not affected? My shadows definitely within all of the others'."

Tsubasa grinned. "Well, I can control whoever's shadow I want. Hm... For example, it's like pink paint. I can choose to control the white particles within it or the red ones or both. I spent a lot of time training to achieve this." He said, definitely proud of himself but with good reason.

"Anyway," He went on, "The name's Tsubasa Andou."

"Mine's Misaki Harada." Was the reply.

They both shook hands as if they were good friends congratulating each other for something they achieved and deserved.

"Hm? 'Tsubasa'...? Oh!" Misaki shouted, then turned to Mikan who was still struggling to get out of Natsume's grasp.

"He's the sempai you told me about right?"

"Yep!" Mikan flashed a smile, temporarily stopping her futile struggles.

"Thanks for taking care of Mikan all this time, she's a hand full, isn't she?" Misaki giggled.

Tsubasa looked surprised for a second or two but he soon started laughing along with her. "Yep! But that's Mikan for you."

"Hey~! That's mean!"

"Let's go." Natsume dragged a reluctant Mikan off. "We've got something important to do, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Mikan suddenly recalled, hitting her palm with a fist. "Tsubasa-sempai! Take onee-san on a tour around the school for me~ Arigato!" She shouted, her voice level decreasing as Natsume pulled her further away.

"Uh... Sure!" He replied, sweatdropping at the pitiful yet hilarious scene of Mikan being dragged around.

Once the two were gone, Tsubasa turned to Misaki. "So, you're an alice too?"

"Yep! I've been an alice since I was very young but things happened so I've only recently managed to be accepted to Alice Academy. It's a long story."

"I see." Tsubasa commented, not wanting to inquire any further. "Well, do you want to go now or clear up this mess first?" He asked, pointing to the crowd around them.

"Well, I've had enough fun so we can go now."

"Fine by me. Wow, you're one tough girl, huh, Misaki-san?"

"Just call me Misaki. And I guess I am cause I love martial arts..." She smiled. "Let's take our time walking. I want to enjoy the fresh air after that lovely exercise."

"Yeah... I know what you mean." He chuckled.

Alice Academy, Technical Types classroom

"Aoi, I need to talk to you." Natsume said, calling out to his sister.

Aoi was still helping with the cooking. Although the damaged and destroyed appliances were either fixed or replaced, thanks to Hotaru after she was paid, it was more effective and efficient to help with the cooking so they let her, of course to Aoi's delight.

When Natsume's voice was heard by his female fans, they started screaming but they immediately kept their mouths shut when Natsume glared at them, giving out an extremely menacing aura. He was in no mood for them and his knowledge of the up-coming situation he'd be in made him even more moody.

"In a minute!" Aoi shouted, finishing up her heating of the food.

Awkwardly, her voice was the only one to be heard, let alone the only cheerful voice. Well, at least before Mikan spoke. "What are you cooking, Aoi?" She asked excitedly, peering over Natsume's shoulder since he was standing in front of her.

"I'm not really sure. Giggles I'm just the mobile microwave."

At that remark, Natsume glared at the others in the kitchen, causing them to be scared and nervous. He couldn't take jokes that well and was on the verge of burning them for using Aoi.

Fortunately for them, he didn't.

"Hurry up. I'll be at the usual place." Natsume informed as he left the room.

"Hai~"

With that said, Mikan followed Natsume. They had a silent walk through the corridors, making their way to their favourite tree and earning a few surprised and jealous faces along the way.

"I'll tell her alone." Natsume suddenly said, ignoring the vein-popping looks of others.

Mikan was wide-eyed for a while but soon she spoke. "Then I'll just wait somewhere nearby."

Mikan knew it would be best if Natsume talked to her first. After all, they'll also be telling her about how Mikan was the vampire who bit him. No one knows how the cute flame caster would react. In the worst case scenario, Aoi would hate Mikan to the extent of revealing her to everyone, especially the DA class and Mikan and Natsume could never be together since Natsume would have to choose a side.

Both Natsume and Mikan silently agreed on that arrangement and proceeded without speaking another word. After all, there's nothing left to be said or discussed. All that's left is to hope for the best and watch Aoi's reaction.

To be continued.


Hope your long wait was at least a LITTLE worth it. I increased the length of this chapter but I'm not sure if it's enough. I'll try to make it up by increasing and improving the next few chapters too~! ^^ Oh yeah, since I'm already done with 10 chapters, from this 11th chapter onwards, there won't be any biographies. Feel free to inform me you want it back. =D