Writer: Kyoko-tan

Editor: Sakura-chan

And so… our joint project is coming to an end. No worries, we'll still upload new stories for you to enjoy! Thanks to all the readers for supporting us all the way and reviewing. It means a lot. Arigatou. And without further adieu… CHAPTER 10 a.k.a the LAST chapter!

~Kyoko-tan

Recap of Chapter 9:

"Ruka, take as much care of Natsume as you can, I have a first aid kit in my bag," I started. "Mikan, let's kick some idiot butt. I'm sure you want to."

"Yes, Hotaru." She had a lot of determination, anger and frustration in her eyes.

"Come and get me, that is if you could." ESP smirked as he continued staying seated at his chair.

Chapter 10:

I was determined. My eyes burning with anger, focused on our target – ESP. I took a side glance at Ruka, trying diligently to heal Natsume.

"Mikan," I looked to my best friend. "Here, take this."

I grabbed the invention from her hands. It took the shape of a long rod. On the metal plates was a faded name edged onto it, BOOM-03. I stared at her with the what-the-hell-am-I-suppose-to-do-with-this glare. How am I supposed to work this? What do I press? Do I even press anything? Was it automatic?

"I'll distract him, you try to attack him." Hotaru whispered and jumped into action.

"EH? Wait! What am I suppose to do with this?"

Too late, the battle has begun. Hotaru shot her baka gun five times around the ESP causing a cloud of dust to form.

BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA

"Now Mikan!"

"Right. What do I do?" I yelled.

"Throw it!"

I did as I was told and threw the BOOM-03. The invention went straight past where the ESP sat. It changed its shape and swiftly went back to the direction of the ESP.

'So it was a boomerang in a disguise of a rod!' My eyes widened, glistening as if stars were embedded within them. As it neared its target, it began to shoot, acting like an automatic lock-on pistol.

BANG BANG BANG

I brought my hand into the air to catch the returning boomerang.

"Good job, Mikan! It's over!"

Behind Hotaru, through the mist, the ESP emerged. Ruka who had just finished tending to Natsume to the best of his ability, looked at the raging battle. Seeing the ESP emerging from behind Hotaru, he acted reflexively and pushed her aside, knocking her baka gun from her hands.

BANG

"Are you alright?"

"I am alright," She said. Her cheeks flushed a bit and looked away to see that Ruka has been injured. "Does it hurt?"

"Nah, it's just a graze"

"What's the meaning of this?" She whispered. From the ESP's hidden pocket, he drew a handheld taser out.

"Have you forgotten my Alice, Imai-san?" The ESP said and saunters behind Ruka, giving him a shock. With a loud thud, his body fell on top of Hotaru.

"Ruka, say something! You're really heavy!"

"You'll get your turn too," he smiled heartlessly at Hotaru.

I ran across the room and grabbed it from his hands without a second thought. How can this man have such a heartless smile plastered on his face, while he watches us kids suffer? His hand reached out. I took a step back.

"Mikan, don't be a bad girl. Give me the taser. I'll pardon you from your punishment after betraying me moments ago."

He walked forward and I continued to back up until I hit the desk. I stopped. I shook my head.

"GIVE IT TO ME!"

"No. Not if you'll continue hurting my friends!" I stuck the taser to his stomach. A jolt went through his body and he fell backwards unto the ground. The gun he was holding flung out of his reach. The taser ran out of batteries. I dropped it onto the floor beside him.

The ESP was down, finally. I staggered over to him to deliver the final blow. He stared at me in the eyes – those corpse-like ones. Were they begging for pleas? No. Were they reflecting fear? No. In the man's eyes, there were hints of humour.

He laughed, before coughing up more blood. "And this is how it ends, how amusing – in the hands of a young lady that is barely of age."

I drew the BOOM-03 above my head, ready to strike. Suddenly, like water washing over, I stopped. I froze in my position.

The man in front of you had tried to take everything from you. You hate him... right? What was this wavering feeling I feel inside of me? There shouldn't be any wavering. He made my life a living hell. Why? Why am I so reluctant to kill him? Thinks of what he did to your boyfriend, Natsume!

"Mikan!" Hotaru called to me. Even though she was the only one saying something inside this quiet room, her voice had barely reached me. I stared into the eyes of ESP. I froze in my place. He's my enemy! You need to kill your enemy right? I dropped the rod.

"If you're not going to kill him, then I will. This is for hurting Ruka!" she picked up baka gun and aimed it at the ESP.

No. It's not right. Even if he was my enemy, there's no reason to kill him. There are other ways to solve a problem. One that does not involve physical use.

"Stop it Hotaru!"

BAKA

The sound echoed off the walls of the space, yet confined room.

I won't let you commit a crime because of hatred…

I was pushed back from the force of the baka gun and hit the wall. I slide to the floor and clutched my side.

"MIKAN! I didn't mean to hit you. Why? WHY DID YOU BLOCK IT FOR THE DESPICABLE MAN?"

And I definitely won't let my friend's hand to be stained with blood.

I smiled bitterly and looked up at my best friend. Slowly, I limped to where ESP was and said, "No one's born evil. There is always hope that the ones that have fallen into darkness to turn back into light they were born with. Because of that reason, I can't let you kill this man."

"Mikan…." Her eyes reflected great sympathy.

Unknown to the girls, the ESP had reached the gun that out of his reach before. From his position on the floor, he raised the gun and aimed it at the brunette.

Finally realizing what the ESP was doing, Hotaru's eyes widened with horror at her best friend's fate before screeching aloud. "NO!"

BANG BANG BANG

"HAHAHAHAHA, you naïve little girl. Never turn your back to your enemy! Remember that in your final moments"

"MIKANNN!!!!!!!!!!!"

Mikan.

That was the only voice I heard before I was drowned into darkness. Was it my imagination, or did I hear Natsume's voice? Don't worry, I'm just resting. I'll wake up once I take my nap, that's what I want to call out, but I couldn't muster it out.

I feel small. Cold. Lonely. I was trapped in the dark. When will it end? Where are the shining lights to guide me? I don't know which way I ran, and for how long, but soon, I reached a stream of light –

Hope.

I crawled over to Mikan, which laid there motionless. Face down on the floor. A pool of blood beneath her.

"Mikan…" I rolled her over and brushed her bangs from her face.

The doors opened. Narumi and Jinno-sensei walked in.

"You lose ESP. There's no where you can go." Narumi said.

"Even after *cough* everything, the girl still *cough cough* won huh?"

"The kids are finally free,"

"But at what cost?" Jinno-sensei said as he looked around the room. Hotaru was holding an unconscious Ruka. Persona and Luna were locked to the dark corner of the room. And, the hero of all of this – Mikan, in the middle of the room, lying on Natsume's lap.

She was becoming paler. Her hands were getting cold. The tints of red on her cheeks that I love were gone. Those brown orbs were closed.

"Mikan, wake up. You can't leave me. You promised – forever & ever." I began to shake her slightly.

Narumi came over and with his cheerful voice, he said, "You kids did well, better than I have predicted. Come, we'll bring you guys to the hospital and patch you up."

***

I awoke to a bright, quiet surrounding. Once upon a time I awoke here, but my surrounding was different. It was noisy and there was a certain brunette waiting for me to wake up with a smile on her face. I looked to my left. The chair was empty. I looked around the room. No one was here, except me.

I hopped off my bed and limped my way to the hallway. Stopping the nurses along the way, I asked "Where's Mikan Sakura?"

With their guide, I staggered my way. Soon enough, I reached the area. Most of Class B was there, along with some Middle schooler and teachers, all that knew Mikan well. The light above the surgery room was on.

I banged my fist against the concrete walls. "DAMN IT! Why am I so useless?! I can't even protect the girl I love!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Ruka.

"Don't worry; Mikan's strong. There's hope. As long as you believe, it'll be alright."

Hope such a strong and meaningful word. Something that brings a great disappointment if you believe in it too much – false hope. I've experienced it many times. I don't want it to happen again. For that reason, I can't believe in those words you say Ruka. I don't know what I'll do if this was false hope.

I sat down on the cold, metal chairs. There was nothing I could do. Nothing. Except for –

Waiting.

Waiting for everything to come to an end.

Waiting for Mikan to wake up.

Waiting for the moment I could return home to live with my dad and Aoi.

That was all there was to me right now. Wait. I waited for the lights to go off.

"You look like hell, Ruka."

"Do I? Hotaru has been leaning on my shoulder waiting for Mikan to wake up."

"How long has it been?"

"Wha-"

"I mean, how long has she been in that room?"

He looked away. "About 8 hours."

The lights of the OPERATION sign switched off. A doctor still wearing his mask walked out. Now that the waiting is done, do I really want to know the truth? I took my chances and ran to the doctor. I grabbed him by the shoulders.

"How's Mikan?"

He took off his mask. "She's… how should I say this,"

I took a step forward, glaring at the doctor; eyes burning with intensity. My legs felt weak. Wait, let me correct that. It was weak to begin with, because of the gun wound. My legs grew weaker. "No."

This isn't that I want to hear from them. Not the 'I'm sorry, we did all we can' phrase, that doctors say when they don't know what else to say; they don't know how to make the people waiting feel better.

"She's awake and really hyper, more than any patient I have treated in so many years. Please make sure she refrains from running around to much. She'll have to stay at the hospital for several weeks. Also, only one person in at a time."

I glared at him, wondering if he was lying. Moments ago, he was lost in words avoiding my eyes. Now he was telling me she's hyper? A hand grabbed me and pushed me in. I didn't get to see who, but I did hear on a cheer.

"Go Natsume!"

"The reunion you have always wanted!"

"Sweep that girl with your charms!"

I stared at her. There was a bandage around her head. Her arms were bandaged as well. Heck, she looked like a living mummy! Suddenly, my ears were engulfed with the words I wanted to hear for so long.

"Natsume!" She jumped from her bed and attempted to run towards me, only to capsize on the floor. Thankfully my reflexes as a black cat were still there. I caught her from her fall. She blushed. "Thank… you~"

"Sheessh, don't you listen to the doctors. You're not supposed to move around."

"But I was excited to see you," She smiled. Oh how I missed that smile. How that smile lift my world up. I helped her to lean on her bed. "It has finally ended."

Silence. She smiled and continued, "You no longer do have to do missions for the ESP."

I took her hand into mine. They were small, gentle, full of warmth and bandaged. I placed it against my cheeks. "You've been through a lot."

"Not as much as you," I stared into her chocolate brown eyes. So much warmth radiated off those eyes. "I love you, Natsume."

I smirked. "What did you say? I can't hear you? Say it louder."

"I said 'I LOVE YOU, NATSUME!'" She gave a small peck on my lips.

"Is that so? Here, for you." I dug a small black box with Spence imprinted on top from my hospital gown. This was what I wanted to give to her before all this interrupted.

"Eh? For me? What is it? May I open it?"

"That depends if you want to or not."

She opened it and gasped. "It's beautiful Natsume. There's a heart on the ring with a diamond in the middle, but what's it for? My birthday passed and Valentine's Day also passed too…"

Oh crap. How shall I pop the question? I didn't mean to throw her the ring today – now. I haven't made the speech yet. I just threw it unconsciously. Damn my subconscious. "It's … it's a promise ring. To promise that I'll remain by your side and protect you from trouble."

I walked over and picked the ring out from its box. I twigged it a bit and the ring came apart into two separate rings. I slipped the one with the diamond on to her right ring finger. I took the other one and wore it around my neck. "With these two, it seals the promise."

"I see!!!" Her eyes gleamed. Her eyes were glued to the ring on her right ring finger. "It's really pretty; I'll never take it off!"

She was on the edge of the bed, ready to jump up and down. I pinned her onto the bed. "You should get some rest," I stood to leave. There was a tug on my sleeve.

"No, stay with me. I'll don't want to be apart from you anymore."

I settled back onto the chair. "Fine, I'll stay here. Sleep." She closed her eyes and in seconds she was gone to dreamland. She was so pretty, so peaceful. And quiet, may I add. I intertwined our hands and I laid my head on the bed, to her ear, and whispered,

"I love you too, Mikan."

Three months had already passed. Alice Academy no longer forced kids to go to the school. Instead, it was their choice to enrol or not. The Elementary School Principal was sentenced for life in prison, for abusing kids. Persona and Luna was travelling around the world. Narumi-sensei went to find Yuka. Everyone went their separate ways.

I brushed my brown hair, wore my favourite light pink sunhat and walked out the door.

Today, I was meeting Hotaru for the first time in years, outside of the school. We were meeting at Anna's shop. Stellare Ristorante was just around the corner of my apartment building. I strolled in.

"Mikan!" I looked to see Anna calling my name. She ran over and dragged me towards the table.

"Where are the boys?"

"They are cooking," Anna said. I sat down beside Natsume's chair. I looked at the boys grilling the steaks. Everyone was here. Anna, Nonoko, Yuu, Kokoroyomi, Sumire, Ruka, Hotaru and last but not least, Natsume.

"Mikan, where'd you get that ring?! Who's the lucky guy?" Sumire said and winked.

I looked down at the ring. I blushed. "None of your business, Permy!"

"Oi, don't call me, Permy!"

"Who was it?" Nonoko asked.

I blushed. "NOBODY!"

Just then Hotaru joined in. "It's Natsume,"

I blushed harder. "N-no it's n-not!"

Hotaru pulled her camera out. She scrolled through the pictures and finally stopped. Oh, she didn't stop there. Next she hooked it up to the projector, before leaning back and enjoying her popcorn.

I blushed even harder. Is that even possible?! There on the big projector screen was a picture of Natsume slipping the ring onto my hand. "EH?! Wh- when did you,"

I ran to the power button and quickly pushed it, closing the projector screen. Frantically, I deleted the picture from the camera. I whispered to myself. "Thank goodness,"

Hotaru smiled evilly and took a stack of pictures from her purse. They were pictures of me and Natsume in the hospital room. My mouth opened wide.

"When's the date?" Nonoko asked, smiling cheekily. I blinked several times before looking over.

"Date? What date?"

"Your marriage," Hotaru said. She brought her baka gun out.

BAKA!

"Ah! That hurts Hotaru! I'm not getting married! Why'd you think that? It's a promise ring, that's all!"

"A promise to marry you," Nonoko winked. Anna gave Nonoko a high-five.

"EH????!!!!"

***END***

For the picture of the awesome ring, visit our profile page! Thank you for reading once again.

~Kyoko-tan

*Sakura-chan poofs into the chapter*

Sakura-chan: WE HOPED YOU ENJOYED IT!

Kyoko-tan: …. Yeah, we hoped you enjoyed it. Next time Sakura-chan, tell me when you "poof" into MY chapter.

Sakura-chan: Okie Dokie!

Kyoko-tan: Thank you. And thank you readers for reading/reviewing this fanfiction!

Sakura-chan: And we hoped you enjoyed it!

Kyoko-tan: Didn't you say that already?

Sakura-chan: …. We hoped you enjoyed it!

*Sakura-chan glomps Kyoko-tan*

Kyoko-tan & Sakura-chan: See yah soon!

What should you do now?

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2) Read and review our other stories!

*A Birthday Like No Other – it's 11:30pm. Just came back from another "mission." This is like any other day, nothing special. I guess despite the fact that it was my birthday, nothing special happened. Not like I care. Wait, why is my door open?

*When Princess and Prince Meet – Sometimes, Mikan wishes she wasn't royalty. However, that's the least of her worries when she meets a prince in the kingdom beside her. From there, they are faced with problems ranging from love, to being part of something they would never even imagine.