AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone., so sorry for the late update. I was very busy for the past weeks and well... to tell you the truth I'm very happy because as of today or just last Friday, I've just graduated from high school. I'm really happy despite the bad things that's been happening for a while. hehe. uhm., another thing is, well, I haven't beta this. I was too lazy and too happy to be checking and sending this to my beta-reader for proofreading. hehehe., I hope you enjoy this chapter... The next chapter would be update in a while. Not this month though... a little later. hope your forgive my delays and laziness., love you all! 3

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

REMINDER: If you read this story of mine, please review. I would really like that. :D thanks...

"..."- talking

'...' - thought

Natsume's point of view.,

CHAPTER 12: DIFFERENT

Time stood still as friends stared at each other for a long period of time. Neither wanting to talk or know what to say to the other party. What was to say when the other was tangled in an intimate position while the other was merely staring at the predicament presented in front?

The sudden intake of breath by Ruka broke Hotaru out of her thoughts and she immediately pulled her 'Idiot Gun Upgraded Version Number 3' out of her pocket. Pointing the gun at the boy hovering above her best friend, she narrowed her eyes in disdain and anger.

"Wait, Imai-san!" Ruka called to the girl beside him.

Hotaru pulled the trigger, too blinded by her rage that she forgot the chain binding Mikan and Natsume. The impact of the bullet on Natsume's head was hard that he flew a couple of feet away and hit the wall with his back. Moments later, he saw Mikan's form approaching him fast. He instinctively brought his hands in front of him and catches Mikan's form, reducing the impact of her body to his. He looked at Mikan momentarily before glaring at the girl in front him.

"I never thought that you would go so far. Suggesting to Mikan to do something vulgar so that the chain would break free- how disrespectful can you be, Hyuuga."

Mikan quietly stood up and looked at Hotaru, her face still the same. Her blush, while not as red as it was before, was still apparent on her face. She shakily brought a hand over her neck where she could still feel the ghostly kiss of Natsume. She could still feel his warm breath fanning across her neck and her face. She could still remember the look Natsume gave her when he told her she was 'breathtaking'. She could remember everything that had transpired a while ago. No matter how much she tried to force her brain to think of something else, her mind wouldn't stop playing the scene that happened earlier.

"Mikan, are you okay?" the voice of Hotaru broke her trance moment.

She immediately collected her usual expression. "That move was unnecessary Imai-san. We were merely arguing about who gets the bed first. The kiss was just an experiment to see if the chain goes off."

Natsume stared at Mikan with bewilderment. Was she trying to fling them out of this situation? He didn't say anything but craned his neck a bit to look for any signs of hidden intentions.

"The bed?" Ruka asked.

Mikan sighed inaudibly. "There is no need to be surprised. It is only natural for arrogant people like us to have the bed for ourselves. I wanted the bed, Hyuuga wanted the bed. Our decisions clashed and what you saw earlier was the fruit of our argument. The kiss was only a bonus."

"You expect me to believe that this… that he is anything but guilty?" Hotaru pointed the gun at the face of Natsume.

"If it brings you comfort to believe that he is guilty, then you do as you wished, however, I do not lie Imai-san. Saying that he is guilty does not change the truth that he is, in fact, innocent."

Hotaru glowered angrily at Mikan. She scoffed and averted her eyes from her. "For the love of…" she muttered exasperatedly. "Did you want him to hug you that much? Did you want him to just stay there on top of you?"

"If it breaks the chains, then yes. I don't see the reason why I should delay time any longer." she replied calmly.

Hotaru balled her hands. If Mikan wanted to fling her partner out, fine by her. But, she wouldn't let the incident slide so easily. Whatever Natsume was thinking, either it be good or bad, she was going to find out. If it meant any harm to Mikan, then the boy might as well start running for his life because she won't stop until he suffered a great deal of pain.

"Hmph," She scoffed and turned one last look at Natsume. "Mark my words Hyuuga. Should I find you disgracing or hurting Mikan in any way…" she trailed off before turning on her heels to leave the room.

Ruka looked at Hotaru's leaving form, quite unsure of the scene that had happened earlier. Well, the situation was quite clear; but his partner's sudden emotional breakdown was different. It was so odd to see her eyebrows twitch in agitation and barely suppressed anger. Looking at Natsume and Mikan, he gave a soft smile.

"I'm not really sure what happened…" he told them before leaving the room to see his partner's condition.

Seeing that there were no visitors in the room, Mikan released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Softly, she turned her head to see Natsume staring back at her. "Get up Hyuuga. It is unbefitting of you to sit down there, looking petty and incompetent."

Natsume blinked his eyes a couple of times before standing up. He brushed away the invisible dust on his uniform. "You admitted you are arrogant."

"That was to avoid any more questions Hyuuga. As a special star and a DA class student, you must know the simplest rules of avoiding interrogation. Surely the DA teacher has taught you this." Mikan explained before turning her back on Natsume.

Natsume had to avoid the smirk forming on the corner of his lips. 'Ah, she's embarrass.' he thought. "Does this mean you like me now, little girl?"

Mikan turned around and glared hard at the boy in front of her. "Like you? Highly impossible!"

"There must be a meaning behind your actions. You defended me because you like me. I don't think there are any other reasons for you to defend me. If I remember correctly, you despise me…"

"I told you that it was to avoid any further confrontation and ruckus." she closed her eyes.

"Is that so?"

Mikan furrowed her brows in annoyance. "Must we keep repeating the issue all over again? Is my language that hard to understand?"

"Not really." Natsume answered back, this time letting a smug smile gracing his lips. "But, I do understand body language better."

Taking a hard breath, Mikan raised her hand to slap the disrespectful boy in front of her. Natsume caught her wrist with less effort and brought her body near his by winding an arm on her lower back. Although glaring hard at Natsume, Mikan's face colored at the closeness of their body. She pushed him away from her. "Release me…"

As soon as Natsume had released her, Mikan took steps away from him and grumbled under her breath. "Stupid arrogant imbecile with Perverted Syndrome… doesn't know when to keep his hands to himself."

Natsume chuckled lightly at her discouragement. "There's no need to feel so bad about it."

"Feel bad? If I were to do the same thing to you...-"

"Ah." he said with a blissful sigh. "I would like to see you try. Do you want to start your now?'

"Argh!" Mikan growled and hissed. "Sleep on the bed. If you wanted the bed that much, sleep on your damn bed."

Natsume sighed softly. His source of fun has ended. She was too amusing and entertaining that it was hard to stop teasing her. Oh how he loved how to push her buttons to stimulate any form of emotions, specifically embarrassment and anger. "You take the bed; I'll sleep on the chair."

She turned her head around to look at the seriousness of Natsume. "You're giving the bed to me?"

"Sleeping on the chair has its advantages."

"Like?" she prompted and stared at Natsume.

"Waking up early." he replied curtly.

Mikan pursed her lips together. "Why don't you just use the alarm clock? It's better that way rather than sleeping on the chair."

Natsume looked at Mikan mischievously. "Are you suggesting something Polkadots? Do you want me to sleep on the bed, beside you?"

She blushed slightly at his statement. "Go to hell, Hyuuga."

Quickly she turned around and prepared herself to sleep. All the while, Natsume watched her with amusement. "You do know that you're sleeping on my bed, right? Do you know the implication of sleeping inside a man's bedroom?" he asked with barely suppressed smile.

"Shut the hell up Hyuuga. Should you come closer, I'd kill you myself. I may save your butt from Hotaru's hands but that doesn't means I wouldn't make myself kill you like she was planning to. Heck, I might as well start killing you if you dare try to touch me."

Natsume chuckled. "I was only asking you a rhetorical question. There's no need for hostility."

Mikan faced her back on Natsume. Her blush was coloring her pale cheeks. She furrowed her brows together. What was it with this guy? What was it with him that made her heart pound fast and made her face hot? What was it with him that made her want to…? She closed her eyes and covered her body, including her face with the blanket provided.

'Finally, a moment of peace.'

However, her peace was momentarily when the blanket from her face was pulled down. "You'll have brain damage."

Mikan glared at Natsume who was looking at her, bored. "Mind your damn business." she hissed.

"On the contraire, your health is my business. Should you sleep with the blanket overhead, you'll lose a great amount of oxygen. After all, oxygen plays a vital role in our brains." he explained. "I wouldn't want to be stuck with a person who has brain damage."

"Fine," she muttered before turning over. "You talk too much when sleeping."

"You argue too much when preparing to sleep." he retorted with a smile.

"Shut up."

A moment of silence elapse them. Mikan stared at the wall, finding solace and entertainment despite the dull color. While her body was weak and needed rest, her mind on the other hand tells otherwise. It was too active. Many visions and pictures of scenery that she had once saw in her life flashed across her, one of them was her rare moments with Natsume when she was a child.

She blinked her eyes to rid the image that was long time forgotten. Natsume doesn't know she was – is Ren. Truthfully, she didn't want him to find out. She could imagine him furious… no livid at the fact that she had kept her identity a secret from him. She knew how important she was to him, and her, him.

Softly, she gave a sigh and turn to her previous position. Her body was facing Natsume this time. Unconsciously, a gentle smile form over her lips. It was quite cute to see him sleeping like this. His face was prompted against the knuckles of his left hand. His left arm was folded and inclining on the arm rest of the chair. Occasionally, his head would bob but nonetheless secured. She chuckled lightly at his position.

"What a liar," she whispered while staring at him. "You lied and gave me the bed instead."

Quietly, she inched herself closer to Natsume. Her eyes fell from the cuffs that bind them together. Just a look of it made her sad. "I wished… no… Natsume, is it selfish of me to wish that our bonds would be just as strong like the cuffs that binds you to me?"

She closed her eyes painfully, wishing that she was never taken in the Academy by the stupid boy, a.k.a., Natsume Hyuuga.

[-

Mikan turn her head to the other direction. She could see the first signs of dawn approaching. No later than minutes, light would flow over the balcony door of Natsume. She gave a long tired sigh and turn around, save her left arm where the chain was attached. She didn't want to wake Natsume up. After all, he was having a hard time sleeping on the chair.

Through the night, he kept on waking up to change his position. He was tired; there was no need of proof to that statement. And while he kept on drifting from dream world to reality, Mikan was awake the whole night to witness his poor predicament of sleep. From her observations, he was a light sleeper and woke even at the slightest movements and sounds. Occasionally, she would take great pleasure of his suffering but nonetheless chuckle at his slightly tousled and dazed appearance. He looks no more than a mere child.

Mikan closed her eyes tiredly. There were times when she was insomniac; apparently this was one of those nights, yesterday too. She couldn't sleep. That makes a number of 2 nights without sleep. Catching sleep was hard, especially when there were nightmares to haunt her in night. Why she couldn't sleep was beyond her. She sighed and opened her eyes.

From the corner of her eyes, she could see the signs of Natsume's awareness. She watched with little amusement as he stretched his bones out. He gave a soft yawn and blinked his eyes a couple of times to clear the remnants of last night's sleep. 'Lucky man,' she thought enviously. He was able to sleep; no matter how little it may be, while she on the other hand, couldn't even get a wink.

Natsume closed his eyes for a bit, willing his self to wake. Opening his eyes, his gaze locks immediately to the brown orbs of Mikan's. She looked tired and her hair wasn't as tousled as he had expected.

"You rise awfully early." he mused and scratch the back of his head.

He heard a soft sigh. "Get up… we still have yet to free ourselves from each other."

[-

Fingers drummed against the table rhythmically. Mikan closed her eyes, all the while her fingers drum against the table. Why was she here again? She had forgotten the reason. Sighing inaudibly, she opened her eyes and stared at the blackboard. Her fingers had stopped drumming and instead, she felt lighter, almost fainting.

She pressed a hand over her forehead, rubbing it in circles to chase the migraine away. Another sigh escaped from her lips as she tilted her head to watch the teacher write something she couldn't comprehend.

"Therefore, the water pressure is higher when at the bottom-

She groaned silently before staring at the board, her vision getting a bit blurry. Mikan closed her eyes tiredly. 'Lack of sleep,' she told herself mentally. She folded her arms on the table in front of her and lowered her head. 'I'll sleep a little bit.'

"Your time is running out… Mikan."

Mikan opened her eyes quickly. Her breaths came in rapid pants and huffs. She narrowed her eyes a little bit, remembering that voice… that boy… the boy with a dull color of sapphire eyes, almost grey. 'Erol.'

[-

Blink…

'Your time is running out… Mikan.'

Another blink…

'He has finally showed up. They have begun their movement.' Mikan thought, her feet padding against the cold marble floor. 'I don't know whether to consider this a good thing or a bad thing. I have not anticipated this movement.'

Natsume quietly walked alongside with his partner, taking notice how her left hand was rolled into fist. It was trembling. He quietly looked at the face of his partner. Her face was dead serious, nothing out of the ordinary. Her lips were same as before, still pursed tightly. Her eyes… ah.

'She must be thinking.'

"Hyuuga,"

He stopped and stared at her with bored eyes. "Hm?"

Mikan carefully watched Natsume. His posture was relaxed and lazy, though his eyes said the other thing. It was alert as always, waiting for something. Something… out of the ordinary. Especially now that the infamous Black Mail Queen had made a promising threat last night. While he didn't feel threatened, he never did like the pain her Idiot Gun had given him. His head was swollen and still painful from the blow he received from her gun.

"We need to find a way to free ourselves."

"You make it sound as if it's easy. There are some students who haven't release themselves from their bounds." he sighed.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. 'He's coming.' she thought and closed her eyes, exhausted. 'If he arrives in this academy, there's no limit to what he can do.'

Mikan opened her eyes and exhaustedly stared at Natsume. "I see…" she started walking, Natsume closely following her.

Natsume watched Mikan carefully. He noted how her body mechanically moved on its own. She was not herself again. But that was not the case; there was something odd about her movement. It's as if she had lost something… He blinked and realized that she was missing the grace she had once possessed.

Her movements alone were almost reluctant and weak – tired and wobbly. Though her structure and poise demand attention and onlookers, it was evident that there was something out of the usual. Her back was slightly slouched and her eyes would lose its usual alertness and glow.

If he were to observe her movements, over all, he'd say she was getting sloppy. Had she not slept last night? He thought and watched the already darken area of her eyes bags. 'The idiot,' he thought resentfully before marching to his partner.

Gently, as not to startle the woman who was deep in thought, he grasps her upper arm and forced her body to face him. "Come. Let's go."

"Wha?"

"We're going to your room." he pulled her gently with him.

Mikan stared at the man before her, disoriented. What was he talking about? And what was the deal about her room? She furrowed her brows and harshly took her arm away from the grasp of Natsume. "Let go idiot. What are you talking about my room?"

He looked back at the dazed eyes of Mikan. "You didn't get enough sleep last night, did you?"

"Doesn't matter. It's not new to me anyways." she huffed at his accusation.

"Very well," he closed his eyes. Swiftly, he crouched down and pulled the body of Mikan close to his before hanging her over his left shoulder with not much effort. In fact, the girl weighed little. She was not heavy. The said girl had her hands over her mouth to stop the bile from coming out.

"Hyuuga," she bemoaned in agony. "Put me down."

Natsume grunted in response. "So help me Hyuuga, I'm going to puke on your uniform."

"Go ahead and do it if it makes you feel better."

Mikan narrowed her eyes in disdain. Her betraying face flushing at his comment. He didn't care about his uniform? Does he even know how… disgusting bile is? This guy made her want to... strangle him for being so… so… she didn't even know what word to describe him. One way or another, he was the only person who could make her heart beat fast; make her feel so annoyed and angry. Heck, it made her want to punch him all over again for being so… so… concern and doing so like he didn't care at all.

She groaned, her thoughts leaving her mind. Maybe if Natsume hadn't carried her like this, she wouldn't feel the severe headache and dizziness she was bearing while classes were going on. In fact, the moment he carried her, it felt twice painful. The stupid boy was stubborn. Mikan placed a hand over her eyes, blocking the blurry and white images of her surroundings. It didn't help that her stomach was on Natsume's shoulder. With him constantly walking, it felt as if something was pushing her stomach to make her puke badly.

"Hyuuga," she moaned. "Put me down. You're making me feel sick."

"You wouldn't be if you slept last night."

"How the hell would you know if I slept last night or not?" she huffed angrily with eyes closed.

Natsume quietly raised a brow at her statement. "You said it a while ago. In fact, you said that it's not new to you – being insomniac that is."

She quietly looked over her shoulder to watch the raven haired teenager. Gently, she pushed herself off of the shoulder of Natsume. Natsume held her tighter.

"There are onlookers Hyuuga."

"Does it bother you?" he asked. The students had started looking the moment he carried Mikan on his shoulder. However, at the moment, he simply didn't care about the onlookers. Why should he care for them when he should be worried about her? His main priority at the moment was the girl he was carrying, not some nosy students.

"It should bother you, not me." she answered haughtily.

Natsume gave a rare smile. Girls on the corridors shouted with love. "Apparently, it does not." he answered. "Plus, if you go ill on me, we'll never find a way to break the chain."

"I'm not sick."

"Of course not."

"Are you mocking me?"

"Not really, no." sarcasm engraved in his voice. "Really Strawberry print, what use are you if you're going to be sick?"

Natsume waited for the response. He furrowed his brows quietly. "Giving me the silent treatment?" he asked. Still no response from the girl dangling on his shoulder.

He grew weary. Surely she wasn't playing any tricks on him, was she? "Hey Strawberry," he called before kneeling down to take her body off from his shoulder. The moment he released her, her body stumbled to the floor. His eyes widened in shock. "Oi, strawberry." he called and grabbed her shoulders.

'She's burning up.' he thought in disdain. 'Damn, how can this girl cause many troubles? First she gets shot at while rescuing me, on the long run overused her alice and got hospitalized. Next, the Academy learns of her past and decided to give her a punishment. Now, she hasn't slept for who knows how many days and gets sick… again.'

Without hesitation, Natsume carried Mikan's body and ran through the hallways, leading to her room.

[-

'Hyuuga, the moment I see you I'm going to blast your face with my new invention.' She thought with a sadistic glint in her eyes. 'Oh yes,' she mused in her thoughts. 'I don't care what Mikan might say or whatever she might do. You must pay.'

Hotaru opened the door of her classroom and quickly pulled out a large bazooka. Despite the intimidation of the weapon, the single flaw of it was the comical ammo. She turns her body and aim to the last row of the classroom where Natsu-er-nobody sits?

"Hotaru-chan," Nonoka called with a nervous smile. "What are you doing bringing a bazooka with you?"

Hotaru growled silently. "Where is he?" she asked through gritted teeth. The 'he' emphasized. Her dark aura was positively leaking from her body and devouring the whole classroom. Everyone stared at the girl holding a bazooka with fear. Why was she so pissed first thing in the morning? Moreover, who was this unfortunate soul that Hotaru wanted to kill at the moment?

"Where is who Hotaru-chan?" Anna asked, beside Nonoka clutching her shoulder.

"Where is the bastard Hyuuga?" she asked with a step forward.

Nonoka looked at Hotaru with weariness. She was scared. Absolutely scared. She clutched the hand of Anna tightly in her hands. "I… I don't know Hotaru-chan. Last time… we saw him he was with Mikan-chan and he… carried her on his shoulder after an argument."

"He manhandled her?" she bellowed. Her eyes were livid, angry. "Where the hell is he?"

"We…we don't know Hotaru-chan… please don't get angry." Anna begged.

Hotaru furrowed her brows and leave the girls alone. The bastard Hyuuga had taken Mikan somewhere in the academy, not only that, he carried her on his shoulder like she's some kind of… animal. She growled viciously. If she saw him, she would make sure of his death. She didn't care anymore.

While Hotaru didn't know what Mikan had planned, she knew in her heart that it wasn't good. Ever since Mikan had requested to cut ties with her, she grew rather protective. She didn't care about her request, no matter how important it may be to Mikan. If Mikan go insane, then she'd gladly take care of Mikan herself. She would rather keep Mikan insane than cut ties with her. Mikan is and will always be important to her. Just the thought of breaking ties with Mikan without knowing the reason why brought betrayal and pain coursing through her veins.

'Stupid girl,' she thought. Her eyes looked around for any subordinate of Natsume. 'There's no one here.'

"There's no one here,"

Hotaru felt her patience thinning. She turned around to see Kokoroyomi smiling like the goof he is. Sumire was beside him, fuming silently because she was still stuck with Koko.

"Do you know where Hyuuga is?" she asked, albeit her anger returning.

Sumire raised a brow at Hotaru. "And what are you going to do about it?"

"We have a score to settle." she answered curtly before narrowing her eyes at the duo. "Now, where the hell is he?"

"How are we supposed to know?"

"Koko," Hotaru called to the boy beside Sumire. "Where is he?"

"Errr…"

"If you won't tell me," she began and raised her bazooka at them. "I might as well start blowing your brains off. I won't hesitate."

Sumire looked weary at how big the bazooka was. "I think he was going to the room of Mikan." she heard her partner said.

Hotaru didn't waste any time and quickly ran going to the dorm of Mikan. Sumire noticed how quickly she moved, in fact, she moved more quickly than she did in gym class. She raised a brow. Obviously, something was going on between Natsume and Mikan. Whatever that is, it pissed Hotaru to the point that she wanted to kill the said boy.

"No way is she going to do that to Natsume-kun," she muttered underneath her breath. "Koko, we're going to where Hotaru is going!"

[-

"Where are your keys, Strawberry Fields?" Natsume asked to the girl.

Said girl opened her eyes tiredly before closing them. "Mmmph," she groaned.

Natsume sighed in annoyance. Seriously, this girl had trouble written all over her body. Shifting the body of Mikan in his arms, he neared the door, summoning his flames to dismantle the door. However, the moment his hand touched the doorknob, the door opened itself. He raised a brow in inquiry. 'She doesn't lock her own room?'

Quickly, he neared the bed of Mikan, but not before eyeing the chess board on her an elegant tea table, near the balcony window. "Strawberrry Fields," he called while checking his temperature.

"I…I'm not sick," she insisted weakly.

"Yeah, you're not." he sighed before walking towards the tea table. He further looked at the chess set. 'Odd,' he thought. "But you're burning slightly."

"Is that so?" she asked quietly followed by a soft chuckle.

Natsume picked the black king on the other side of the chess set. It was made of fine porcelain glass. In fact, all of the chess pieces were made of porcelain glass. He places the king of black back on its place. He raised a critical blow. Did she play chess on her own? He thought quietly, further studying the chess pieces.

Every chess pieces were on its proper places. The black bishop had been eliminated, so are some pawns from the black team. The white team however had yet to lose a piece. 'Does this mean that the white pieces are winning?' he thought mentally.

Upon further inspection, the horse of the white team was rather close to the base of the black team. He looked quietly and noticed that despite the loss of the black team, the queen of black had made a good move. It had checkmated the white queen. The white queen had no supports to back her up. 'Odd,' he thought once more.

Silently, he looked over to the girl on the four poster bed. Her breathing was a bit erratic. Natsume grimaced. The partner's week had proved itself troublesome as his partner did today. He sighed and walked to his partner. "What's with the chess? Have you been playing all by yourself?"

No response.

He sighed again. How was he going to fetch some medicines for her if they were stuck with each other? As if on cue, the door to Mikan's room opened rather forcefully, revealing none other than the great Imai Hotaru with her intimidating bazooka. Followed by her arrival were Shouda Sumire, Koko and Nogi Ruka.

"Hyuuga," Hotaru began with a sadistic chuckle. "You manhandled Mikan. I told before haven't I? If you ever hurt Mikan or did something wrong to her, you were going to pay. Say your last prayers."

Natsume rubbed his temples. 'Another trouble,' he thought tiredly. "Despite your threats, you rather came in a good time." he walked over to the group and stared at them with his left hand inside his pocket. "The girl had gotten sick due to fatigue."

"This is your fault Hyuuga!" Hotaru accused, her weapon raised. "If you hadn't-"

"I had let her slept on the bed. However, her sleeping habits are not up to me. Those are her doing. How should I know if she slept or not?" he asked with a raised brow. "That is not the case right now though. Strawberry Fields is sick. I can't get her any medications if I'm stuck with her."

Hotaru growled. Her eyes were narrowed to slits as she stared at the ground. Seriously. This man was getting on her nerves. She would kill him, that, she was certain. However, the 'killing' part will have to wait. What matters the most right now is the girl on the bed. Mikan is sick.

She grumbled inaudibly. "But don't think I won't try and kill you Hyuuga. Mikan is my priority as of the moment, and if she gets well, you'd better run and hide. I will kill you, make no mistake of that."

"I want to see you try, Imai."

Hotaru scoffed at the arrogant attitude of Natsume before leaving the room, her feet a bit stomping. Natsume sighed and closed his eyes. "What the hell are you guys doing here?"

"Natsume-kun, I thought something bad had happened to you… so I came to check up on you."

Natsume opened his eyes to stare at Sumire. "Is the girl with Chemical Alice with you?" he asked before averting his eyes from the form of Sumire to the boy beside him. "Koko?"

"Ah, yes. She's in the classroom." he immediately answered.

"Ask her if she had any medicine."

"Okay." Koko answered before pulling the form of Sumire. "Come on."

"But I want to stay with Natsume-kun!" she whined.

Koko sighed before pulling Sumire harder, his smile never faltering. "You don't want Natsume to get angry now, do you?"

Sumire looked at her 'crush' one more time before leaving the room, following Koko to their classroom.

"How is she doing, Natsume?" Ruka asked, walking near the bed of Mikan.

Natsume glared at Ruka, giving him the 'it's-obvious' look. Ruka chuckled slightly. "Right, right, right." he mumbled before looking at the pale girl covered in blankets. "She looks pale and a bit haggard though. She probably didn't sleep for two nights or more."

"How are you sure?"

"Natsume, I've seen how you looked when you didn't get more than a night's sleep. Sakura-san is no different. She does act the same like you, Natsume. From time to time, whenever I look at her and the way she acts, I can't help but laugh." he said softly and pulled the blankets up.

Natsume grunted. "I'm not as thick headed as she is. And I especially don't act like her."

"Quite the contraire actually," Ruka smiled. "No matter which angle you see from, you guys have similarities. I guess that's why Narumi-sensei had paired you up. After all, if I were to say something about your partnership, I'd guess a negative and a negative combined together becomes a positive."

An eyebrow twitched. "That good for nothing…" Natsume mumbled, his eyes getting dark with every passing seconds. However, their conversation was cut off when they heard a soft moan from the girl on the bed.

"… has nothing to do with this…" Mikan mumbled incoherently.

Ruka and Natsume stared at the sleeping girl on the bed. "Is she having a nightmare?"

"Probably. It must be reason why she hardly gets sleep at night. She must be haunted by her dreams."

Mikan tussled in her sleep. "I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry." she repeated. "I'm sorry… Natsume…"

The moment she had mentioned Natsume's name, both boy's interest were sparked, specifically the raven haired teenager. The girl was dreaming of him. While he was flattered by her dream sequence, he didn't get the whole situation either. Mostly, when girls dreamt about him, his name cooed. He coughed slightly at his own thoughts. 'I can't help it if I was born with good looks. After all, every time Shouda sleeps, she calls my name as if I'm a candy she wanted in a long time.'

He broke his trailing thoughts. Quietly and gently, he sits down on the bed of Mikan. "Strawberry Fields," he called.

No response from the said girl on the bed. He took hold of Mikan's arm and gently shook her. "Strawberry Fields, wake up. It's only a nightmare."

Mikan opened her eyes softly to see Ruka and Natsume's faces staring at her intensely. Blinking her eyes a couple of times, she tried to understand why these people were in her room. Why were they here again? Ah yes, she remembered. Natsume was stuck with her for the time being. However, in Ruka's case, she didn't understand why he was here at all.

"Nogi, what are you doing here?"

"Aheh," Ruka smiled. "Well… I heard that you were sick. You're my friend Miss Sakura. This is the least that I could do. The others are looking for medicine."

Mikan blinked her eyes. "I… see" she gasped softly. "I feel funny today… it feels as if… everything is turning, even you guys are turning around all over again. Can you stay in one place?"

"We're not moving at all Sakura-san."

"Okay," she answered softly before closing here eyes. "At least, stay with me until I'm asleep."

Natsume and Ruka watched Mikan as she closed her eyes, her breathing slowing down.

[-

"Will she be alright now?"

"I don't know. But I did try it on rats and they worked pretty well."

"WHAT? Are you telling me you've never tried this on yourself or any person at all?"

"Aheh, well… Mikan-chan will be the very first human to use this medicine."

"Are you an idiot or just plain stupid? Who would in their right mind give a medicine that wasn't even tried on people? If something happens to Mikan, I'm going to kill you."

"Please don't Hotaru-chan. Nothing bad will happen… I hope."

"Hn."

For the first time in life, I never felt a sense of omen. Though her temperature has gone and she's looking well, I can't help but feel something foreboding. I sighed inaudibly before closing my eyes. Seriously, if Strawberry Fields knew that the medicine given to her was not yet tested on humans, she'd kill the girl.

"Ah! Looks like she's coming back."

I watched carefully as she blinked her eyes to rid the remnants of sleep. Instead of sitting up as she usually do once she's awake, she laid on the bed, staring at space as if we were not there.

"Will Mikan-chan kill me when she knows that the medicine I gave her wasn't really… good?"

No one answered the girl with Chemical Alice. In fact, everyone was anticipating Strawberry Field's next reaction.

"She's not reacting at all…" my best friend whispered in awe.

True, Strawberry by nature was very alert and aware of her surroundings, even in sleep. However, the girl in front of us was different from the usual. Her reactions were more than enough proof that the medicine's side-effects was taking over.

Carefully, she turned her head around to look at us and at that moment… I thought that hell was freezing. Her reaction was not her 'normal' grumpy reaction. Instead she smiled. She freaking smiled! And her eyes… her eyes which were guarded all the time, were now opened like a book. Everything about her… was turned from homicidal and hostile to plain gentleness and naivete.

"Good morning…" her voice was so soft, very alluring that everyone had blushed. "I'm sorry for all of the inconvenience I've caused you, especially to you Ruka-san, Natsume-san. Thank you for staying with me until I was asleep. That was very kind of you."

The moment she spoke with that alluring voice, I knew… she was giving me another trouble to bear.

[-

Everyone watched with wonderment and amazement as the 'not so grumpy' Mikan smiled at them angelically. Not only that, she had apologize! And there was more… she smiled! What exactly was going in here? Was this the side –effect of the medicine Nonoka had made?

"Stop acting, Sakura-san. You're creepy when you smile." Sumire huffed and crossed her arms.

Mikan looked at Sumire with an apologetic look. "Is that so, Sumire-san? Does this mean I must not smile anymore? Is my smile so scary? And why are all of you looking at me like that? Am I really that scary when I smile?"

"Oh my god," Anna thought out loud with her jaw opened. "Exactly what was that medicine Nonoka-chan? You turned Mikan-chan into something… very adorable and naïve!"

"Aheh," Nonoka smiled nervously. "I never thought this would have happen. In fact, I was expecting her to be more violent than usual since the subjects showed aggression the moment they were well after a dosage of medicine."

"Does this mean that it shows the other side of Mikan?" Hotaru asked, her calculating looks staring at the girl on the bed.

Nonoka shook her head. "I'm not sure. I'm going to check more of this."

Mikan stood up and walked near the group of students. "I don't see the relation of your conversation with my condition. Exactly, what are you talking about?"

"You're sick, even until now." Hotaru raised a brow at Mikan when she titled her head to the side, her confusion very apparent. 'This girl… is she faking?'

"Sick?" she asked before giggling a bit. Stepping back, she twirls around on one foot with her arms spread like wings. "See? I'm very much healthy now and to tell you the truth, I feel very much better. It's all thanks to you guys. I'm very grateful."

Mikan blinked her eyes a bit and stared at their wide eyes. Seriously, was there something that she had missed? Why were they so surprised to see her smiling? It was not a surprise… surely they have seen her smiled, right? She furrowed her brows a bit. Well… maybe not but it was not bad to smile once a while right? After all, she was always frowning at them and glaring.

She laughed sullenly. "I'm sorry," she placed a hand over her head, her face grimly looking at the ground. "I know that I've been glaring and frowning… it must have freaked you out that I'm smiling all the time."

"Hell right." Sumire huffed before crossing her arms.

"B-but why must you all be mean that I can't smile even when I'm happy with you guys?" this time, she had covered eyes with her arm, her tears freely flowing from her eyes.

This reaction made their eyes wider, if it was possible. What was with this reaction? Mikan never cried, even when she got shot or even with her hard circumstances. But… this Mikan in front of them was crying merely because they were not giving positive reaction to her… well reaction.

Hotaru sighed and walked over to the crying girl. "Idiot," she whispered before patting her head. "Stop over thinking things."

Mikan looked at Hotaru, her eyes teary. She sniffed a bit and smiled. "Okay,"

"Get ready for classes."

"Un."

"That means to all of us as well," she sighed once again before leaving Natsume and Mikan alone.

Natsume blinked his eyes a couple of times before looking at Mikan. Was this for real? He thought grimly. What if she was just faking everything? What if… argh, there were so many what ifs. But it didn't matter at the moment; he would have to watch her closely. He sighed and got ready for school, his eyes once again looking at Mikan as she prepared for the afternoon classes.

'Could my life get any worse?'

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. Remeber, your reviews are a fuel to my story. The more reviews you give me, the faster the next chapter will be updated. So, please send me your pretty reviews., ^_^ I'd be glad to read them... thanks for reading!

I wanted to say thanks to the following for giving me reviews the last chapter. You guys are simply the best and you are very much lovable., hugs

Amai Youkaiko

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SPECIAL MESSAGE TO:

kashaminami : hm... fluffy huh? -teary eyes all of a sudden- You know what? I don't know how to make any fluffs. This is a disappointing character in me. My friend '-MiNi-RAi-' told me many times what fluffs are all about and every time I try visualizing fluffs I couldn't think of any and... and... I don't understand what fluff means! uwah! really! Seriously! I'm so sorry... I'm really trying hard to understand what fluff is about and despite the constant explanation '-MiNi-RAi-' gives me, I couldn't understand a thing! I'm so sorry. I'll try my best to make on the next chapter, that is if I can truly understand what a fluff is about... T,T

Thank you for reading this story everyone.,

You are all my inspiration to this story. Love you all! XOXO

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