From the start of this chapter by skipping a month you might think I'm trying to rush the story in to the end, but I'm not :) There's still a good... 4, more 5 if not more chapters left for this story. The chapter's will probably take between 3-4 days for me to update, too. I'll be busy on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday so I'll try hard to get one up for Thursday. I should be home Friday night, so maybe It'll be posted then. I don't think you really want to wait another week for another chapter though - i know i wouldn't. Don't...

You people are sharp. You pick up on things i never would have noticed if I hadn't written the story. My challenge was just words, damn it -.- I didn't expect you to go and figure out the plot for the story, geez :P Well done though, i know at least 2 people worked out out and i think another 2 (4all up) noticed something crucial but thought over it.

I salute your observant ways, but i also curse them.

Anyway, enough ranting. Here's chapter 12! Enjoy :D!


12

It's been almost a month since the kidnapping accident. Mikan's been an active part of the school and she's made man, many good friends. She's a constant joy to be around, always making people fool good about themselves and she works very hard for her company and school.

Things with her and Natsume have been progressing smoothly. Everyone knows that they're an item, and no one bothers trying to get in the way. They're perfect for each other, why would anyone try to destroy the happiness in Mikan's life when there's so little of it?

Taking after Natsume and Mikan's great example, several other couples were formed amongst the Special class and outside of it, too. Tusbasa and Misaki, for example, finally admitted to their true feelings for one another, and now they're seen everywhere together.

A slightly more complicated relationship would be Kokoro and Sumire. Koko had confessed to Sumire, but Sumire had still been totally hung up on Natsume. Oddly enough it was Mikan who convinced her to give Koko a chance. Turned out Koko was almost the exact way she pictured Natsume – handsome in his own way, rich, high class and as a bonus feature he was kind and loyal. Sumire's a little protective though, like a dog. If anything female makes a move toward him she barks – figure of speech – like crazy. Her bites a lot worse, though.

THE most complicated relationship was definitely Hotaru and Ruka. Apparently they'd been together for a very long time in secret, and had just decided to bring it out to the public now. Why? Because some girls started confessing to Ruka and Hotaru didn't like that. No girls dare go anywhere near Ruka now, either.

"Hey, Natsume. You seen the idiot?" Hotaru's voice pulled Natsume back through his memories to the now. He'd been distracting himself because Mikan wasn't around. He hadn't noticed that the lesson had already ended.

He shook his head. "She should be here though, right?" He shrugged, unconcerned for her absence. "Maybe she had to go to a meeting again and didn't have time to tell us. I'll call—"

"No need," Hotaru said, cutting him off midsentence. "I already tried calling, goes straight to message bank. No one's answering her home phones either. She's not at the office and neither are her parents." Hotaru's worry was evident in her voice. "She wouldn't leave without telling me, Hyuuga. She would leave without telling you."

Natsume tried not to look worried, but Hotaru saw straight through it, so he turned and walked away. "She'll be back tomorrow, don't worry, Imai."

--One week later

There had still been no sign of Mikan or her family. The staff at their mansion home were still working, however, but they'd been informed by an outside source to continue working. None of them knew where the Sakura's were, either.

Saying Natsume was anxious would be the understatement of the century. He's already hired several teams of investigators to find her, and still had nothing to show for his money wasting. Mikan… Mikan where are you…? He thought desperately once more, dropping his head onto his desk. He didn't want to look around the room if he knew that Mikan wouldn't be there.

"Sakura-san!?" Sumire's and Anna's incredulous voice's literally knocked Natsume backwards off his chair, onto the floor. Well, not exactly like that. In a frenzy of emotions, mainly hope and love, he'd tried to stand up and move forward at the same time, forgetting he was on the chair. Tangled legs and the chair falling over had him scrambling to his feet from the floor cold floor.

Mikan stood in the entryway, staring at him with a blank expression. A few seconds later she was using the wall to support herself as she laughed with all her heart, almost choking herself. "You, you just fell over!" She gasped, pointing a shaky finger at him as she chortled. After a while she came to a stop, finally realizing that she was the centre of attention in the room.

She shifted, uncomfortable with their gazes. "Right. I was away for a while, wasn't I? I was visiting some relatives on a trip in Africa. They didn't have electricity or phones there, so I couldn't contact anyone." She looked up at Natsume, causing his heart to skip a beat. "I'm sorry."

In a blur of movement and startled gasps, Mikan was wrapped securely in Natsume's strong arms. He kept kissing her hair softly, completely oblivious to the prying eyes. "It's okay," he said, his eyes closing. "It's okay because you're okay. Because you're back now, so everything's perfectly okay. No, not okay. More than just 'okay'."

Mikan slid out of his arms, taking his hand. "I love you too and I'm glad you're not mad, but we have Jinno sensei first up and I'd rather not have my ears chewed out." She smiled, touching his face. "It's so good to be able to tough you again." She sighed, a smile touching her lips.

They went to their seats next to the window and pulled out their work gear. "Seriously," Natsume mumbled, grabbing a piece of Mikan's long brown hair. "Why bother lugging around all those text books when you've got them all stored in that brilliant mind of yours?"

Mikan smirked, shrugging. "Why not? Can't do any harm to act like a normal student, right?" a tiny bit of that lost sorrow touched her eyes, and she quickly looked away, knowing Natsume would recognize it almost immediately.

She turned too late. "Being normal isn't all it's cracked up to be." He murmured, pulling her face back around to see could see it. "Forgetting things, getting tired and getting beaten up have no appeal at all. I wish I was like you." He smiled warmly. "Luckily I got something better than a highly developed body and a photographic memory. Because I've got something no one else can ever have. You." He bent in and kissed her passionately, watching her flush beet red.

She cleared her throat, turning her face to the window she sat beside. "Pay attention, Natsume. We're in class and you need to learn." He could hear the smirk in her voice. "Don't want to fall behind again, do we Hyuuga?"

He smiled, shaking his head, knowing that she could see him. They'd talk again, after class. They'd talk until she had to go to work and he had to do homework, and then they'd talk again over the phone when they were both home. Natsume wanted to absorb her into him, so she could never disappear again.

He couldn't be happy without this crazy, athletic, genius girl that had a hobby for saving people and pretending to be a commoner. She'd shredded his repetitive lifestyle that he'd grown accustomed to, which he found fantastic. Nothing was better than waking up in the morning and not knowing what would happy in the next 24 hours.

What would he do without her? Who cares, anyway? He'd never have to be without her.

Ever.

--

Misaki and Tsubasa grinned, silently watching Hotaru and Ruka as they had another lover quarrel over Hotaru's evil, blackmailing ways. It was routine, of course. They must have been relieved that they no longer had to hide their relationship from the public, and their friends.

Which, they both assumed, is exactly how Mikan Sakura must feel. Finally able to relax and fit in with everyone else without being teased and traumatized. Misaki's eyebrow twitched as she contemplated paying Hotaru to invent a time-machine to go back in time to beat the crap out of her younger self for being such a horrible person.

Tsubasa saw her frown and flicked her in the forehead, laughing at her stunned expression. "If you frown you'll be all wrinkly like a prune when you're older. I won't marry a prune." He grinned, dodging her kick and retreating t the elevator where Natsume and Mikan were sure to appear.

For a moment he thought they'd be too late, but just in time the doors slid open and he ducked behind Natsume. As a natural reaction to seeing someone attack Natsume – the man she loved – Mikan dropped her bag and grabbed Misaki's leg before she realized what she was doing.

"Oh, crap," she dropped Misaki's leg, biting her lip. "Sorry Misaki. It's an involuntary action that occurs when I see something I love in danger." She squeezed Natsume's hand in her own. "Anyhow, moving on to more important matters – we're all going to ditch school and go shopping at the new shopping mall built by the Sakura's and Hyuuga's, alright? Dad said I could invite a few friends to go on a free-for-all shopping spree.

"First ten items free, too. After that you have to pay." She smiled, handing the special gift cards to each member of the special class: Hotaru, Yuu, Ruka, Tsubasa, Misaki, Sumire, Kokoro, Youichi and Anna. She gave Anna an extra one with Nonoko's name on it. "Go get her, could you? Before she goes to class, I mean. The cars out the front, we'll meet you there." She then turned back to the others, as if challenging them to object.

When nobody did, she smiled and skipped back over to the elevating, linking her arm through Hotaru's while Natsume and Ruka made their way over with the rest. Hotaru eyed Mikan suspiciously. "What?" she asked, quirking a delicate brown brow.

Hotaru's eyes narrowed. "Don't you 'what' me like you're innocent, Sakura. You're gone for a week and when you get back you drag us all out of school to a shopping trip. Next it'll be slumber parties and big formal parties with media coverage." She snapped sarcastically.

Mikan's eyes popped open wide like Hotaru had slapped her with a slimy fish. "Who the hell told you all of that!? I told mum and dad not… to…" she trailed off, her face dropping into a scowl. "Oh. You were being sarcastic. I should have known." She muttered, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

Hotaru glared at her harshly. "You're holding out on me, Mikan." She said emotionlessly. "I know it must be important, so I'm not going to pressure you. But if I find out… well, never mind. Just don't lock things away anymore, okay? I'm sick of your silent suffering."

Mikan gasped dramatically, using her free hand to cover her gaping mouth. "Dear lord! Hotaru Imai just issued me a subtle order to complain more often! Holy shit, the world is coming to an edge! Hell's freezing over—" she bit her lip at Hotaru's death glare.

"That's better." She said, smirking a little. She loved her best friend, envied her even. No other person could go through so many hardships and survive and then still put others before themselves while keeping a smile plastered to her face the entire time. That was definitely one of the many special traits of Mikan Sakura.

Sumire edged her way over closer to Mikan and Hotaru as they left the elevator, walking out towards the car park. "I heard something about parties." She said, grinning. Of course she heard their conversation. Sumire had the ears of a dog when it came to gossip, but she knew better now than to try and spread rumors about Mikan. She valued her social standing almost as much as she valued her life.

Mikan sighed, shaking her head in exasperation, smiling a little for unknown reasons. "Yeah. Don't go spreading it around or I'll un-invite you, though. Only select few will be attending the slumber party. But I suggest you pick out a nice outfit for the formal party, though. Black-tie occasion." She grinned at the excitement in Sumire's eyes. "You can invite your family and a special guest." She announced, knowing very well that the entire group had been sucking in her words.

She smiled over at Natsume, mouthing the words 'I love you' like she was locked in a sound proof room and he wouldn't be able to hear her. He mimicked the action back at her, punching Ruka in the arm when he commented on their lovey-dovey-ness.

Mikan smirked when they spotted the stretch limo and gestured for them to get in. She waited outside the door for Anna and Nonoko. Once they were in the car she slid in beside them, relaying the party news.

Nonoko's lips pursed. "Are the boys coming over for the slumber party too Mikan?" she asked, looking deterred. Mikan guessed she was another girl with self-esteem issues about her body and frowned a little. Nonoko was gorgeous, she didn't need to worry.

Mikan shook her head, grinning. "Of course not. My dad and all the male butlers are going to stay at the villa in the mountains for two days and one night for the duration of the party." Mikan grinned. "You know what? Invite your mums, too. My maids and mother plan to join in on the fun as well. Wear the sexist underwear you have. We'll have a ball without male intervention."

Misaki, Sumire, Anna, and Nonoko's eyes glimmered with glee. "We could buy some lingerie at the mall!" Misaki chirped, grinning as the words left her lips. "Poor boys. I bet they'd love to see this." She sighed dramatically, and the other girls joined in.

Mikan nodded, smirking to herself. "Of course, ladies, of course. Make sure you're comfortable though, thats the main point. I've organized Karaoke, guitar hero, twister and I've hired a team of beauticians and hairdressers for the occasional as well. Mums got some designer friends coming over, we're going to see their new line of clothes and pick one set each." Mikan grinned with satisfaction at their excited squeals. "And to finish it off me and Hotaru hired some people to turn my basement into a virtual reality."

They stared at her quizzically, but she let Hotaru explain. She was always better with the technical things – she knew how to dumb it down. Mikan just listed every big word she could think of.

"The room is covered in white padding for safety reasons for starters. You slip on elbows and knee pads, a vest, special boots and gloves and a half helmet next. And then you pick your character, design it if you want. And then you pick your settings. You can be flying like angels, swimming like mermaids or whatever else. You could play a sport if you really wanted. It's just a virtual reality so you don't need all of the equipment." She shrugged.

Mikan frowned. "It's extremely high-tech but it's easy to use." Mikan grinned. "It's my house. We're going to fly like angels, I say."

The rest of the trip to the mall continued like that. The girls discussed the details of the slumber party that would take place in two days time. The boys sat and listened in envy, wishing they could take part. For the games, if not for watching 5 beautiful girls laze around in sexy lingerie all day and night.

Silently, Natsume began his plotting.


Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated, of course ^.^

Am looking forward to this slumber party to be honest, and I'm not even invited.