No, I do not own Gakuen Alice.

Say goodbye,
As we dance with the devil tonight
-Dance with the Devil, Breaking Benjamin

It rained a lot over the next few days. I mean, a lot. For three days straight, when it wasn't a torrential downpour, there was a constant drizzle that made it impossible to get anywhere dry unless you had an umbrella. And an umbrella was something I didn't have. Every morning I got up, I'd do my hair, then I'd walk outside and it would be like I stuck my finger in a light socket – frizzy. I rocked the ponytail at both jobs while the rain lasted.

I found out, on Monday when I'd been putting myself together for work at the bar, that I'd left my phone and my high heels in Natsume's car. A very colourful sequence of words had escaped my lips as I ran down the stairs and sprinted the six blocks – well, sprinted some, walked when I was tired – to the car garage. Natsume wasn't there, but Ruka had my phone and high heels.

I did a very thorough inspection of my phone to see if Natsume played any of those immature tricks like changing the language or changing my contacts to Harry Potter names. But no, the only difference was that 'Natsume Hyuuga' was now a contact on my phone. Even though my heart fluttered, I had a feeling Ruka had made that, not Natsume.

Koko wasn't very informed on what was going on. All that he knew was that I'd committed grand theft auto and gone on a road trip, but he didn't know where I'd gone or why Natsume was so pissed about it. I didn't tell him, because I had a bad feeling growing stronger with each day that passed where I didn't see Natsume.

I'd stopped being scared. I was a little bit mad at myself for putting myself in this situation by not telling anyone where I was going, and by letting that picture be taken when it screamed drug deal, but I wasn't scared anymore. I couldn't afford to be scared of Persona. That was what he wanted, and that was one thing I for sure never had to give him.

I liked going to work at the bar, because no one there – aside from Luna – knew what I was dealing with. Even Luna didn't really. All she knew is that I happened to be in Natsume's car with him when I'd first arrived here. But otherwise, it was like walking into a totally different life, one that wasn't haunted by the threat of drugs and bets and races.

On Tuesday, I was beyond tempted to approach Luna and tell her that she wasn't doing Natsume any favours by agreeing to go with him on the deal, provided Persona got him to do it. I wanted to tell her that Persona's threats were empty, that he was saying it was for 'Natsume's own good' just to get her to go because he knew she'd do anything for him if it meant he'd give her the time of day.

I couldn't honestly believe that Persona would do anything to Natsume. He was far too valuable to his business with his knack for never losing and for being so tough that no one stood up to him and won.

Not that Natsume would do the deal. Because we'd find a way to make sure he didn't.

I equally liked going to work at Yome's, however, because the people there were so characteristic and different and I didn't care what they were into, because I liked them all. Ruka's grinning flamboyance and the way he always looked at Hotaru, ready to impress her. Hotaru's way of looking at him like nothing he could do would ever impress her. Koko's way of making things looks less bad than they were.

Natsume did not come into the bar or Yome's for the next several days. I didn't ask, and I tried not to wonder. But Koko knew, even though he didn't say anything, and Daichi definitely knew, and didn't mind talking.

"He leaves for periods of time," he said, so out of the blue one afternoon that I had to pause a second and wonder who he was talking about.

"Oh, you mean Natsume."

He chuckled. "Don't say his name like you're cursing him to hell, sweetheart. He's got the best intentions."

I rolled my eyes. "I highly doubt that."

He propped his elbow up on the counter, chewing a toothpick out of the corner of his mouth. "So, what's the deal? You two have a relationship now?"

"No," I replied, honestly enough. What Natsume and I had could not be called a relationship. Mutual attraction is what it would be named, and that's what it would stay. "I'm just worried about him."

He nodded in understanding. "Don't let him catch you saying that, though. Natsume claims he doesn't need anybody to worry about him. Mind you, Ruka worries enough for the whole world."

"You talking about me?"

I hadn't noticed Ruka walk into the shop, which was the first indication that I'd better snap out of it and start doing my job. I managed to grin at him wholeheartedly, and then shot Daichi a look that warned him to stop talking about Natsume. He chuckled and took a sip of his coffee as Ruka sat down beside him.

"Good afternoon, Ruka!" I said cheerfully. "What can I get you? Coffee?"

"Yes, please." He shivered. "This weather is atrocious."

I patted my ponytail, thinking of all the wasted effort that had gone into it these past few mornings. My optimistic thinking that if I did my hair again, even though it was ruined the day before because of the rain, it would be fine by the time I got to work, but very obviously not working. "Atrocious, is right."

I was alone in the store this afternoon, which was fine by me because it was so dead that having two people would mean having half the amount of work and I was bored with the full amount of work. While I poured Ruka's coffee, I scanned the few customers for any signs of something to do, and saw none.

I slid Ruka's coffee across the counter to him with the usual added in already. "What brings you in this afternoon?"

He looked up at me, his bright blue eyes slightly worried – as they always seemed to be – and maybe a little bit curious. "I haven't heard from Natsume these last couple of days. It's not that he hasn't been around. He's been ignoring my calls. It rings two or three times and then goes to voicemail."

I frowned. "Doesn't sound like he's being very mature."

"He's not. I was wondering if you'd seen or heard from him."

"Since Saturday, you mean? No." I snorted. "If he's ignoring and or avoiding you, there's no way I'm going to end up seeing him. I swear he thinks I'm the Plague." Except when he kisses me. Because obviously I'm not so scary then.

He sighed, took a drink of his coffee, and shivered again. "I hate when he goes into one of his 'moods'. He acts like such a child."

I topped off Daichi's coffee for something to do and turned back to Ruka. "Were you mad? When he did that race for you, I mean."

He didn't look surprised that I knew. "Not at first. At first I was overjoyed. Because he'd won, first of all, and because he'd gotten me out of trouble. I got mad when I realized that him getting me out of trouble had done. When Persona first called me asking how he could reach Natsume, I told him to screw off and leave him alone. But Persona's persistent and he has his ways." He sighed. "And now Natsume's as deep into this as I am."

I looked down at my hand as it habitually dragged a damp cloth across the counter. Persona was a raging lunatic who needed to be stopped. That much I was sure everyone knew. But no one knew how to stop him. And I needed to find something.

"How did you and Hotaru meet?" I asked. "I know you went to the same school, but she doesn't really strike me as…the dating type. You know?"

Daichi hooted. "Ah, this is a good story. I can hear it twenty times and still marvel at the girl and her wickedness."

A faint tinge of pink exploded across Ruka's cheeks and nose, but he cleared his throat and straightened in his seat. "Honestly, all through school, I thought that Hotaru was the devil in disguise. She knew everything, first of all. And her stupid camera." Even as he said the words, his eyes were gleaming and his lips were resisting a faint smile.

I glowered, remembering the picture of me and Natsume tangled in each other, of me in Natsume's car, and how none of that was any of Hotaru's business. "Stupid camera."

"She blackmailed me with my involvement in the gang," he went on. "For years. I mean years. I couldn't catch a break. She had pictures, she had proof, and if any of that came to light, my reputation at school would go out the window, and I'd probably get expelled. Since I was actually concerned with my schooling, I went along with it. She made sure I knew it was her that was doing it, just so she could torment me some more."

Didn't sound like Hotaru had changed much over the years.

"Persona called me up some time when we were in grade eleven, and told me that I would be attending some extremely valuable supplier's dinner party, and that it would be suitable if I were to find someone to come along with me so I looked less out of place. No one could have been more surprised than I was when Hotaru was the first person I thought of. So I asked her out."

I frowned. "And she said yes?"

Daichi started laughing; Ruka shot him a glare. "No. She definitely said no. But I was not going to go to that stupid dinner party without her. All I had to do was tell her all of the people who were going to be there were gang-related and that there were bound to be some compromising situations that she could catch on her stupid camera."

I nodded in understanding. "That sounds more like Hotaru."

He held up his finger. "She still didn't say yes right away. In order for her to 'grace me with her presence', as she put it, I had to first take her out to Red Lobster. She has a thing for crab, wouldn't you know it?"

I stared at him for three long seconds with a straight face before pinching my lips together to stifle a laugh. "She emptied your wallet for the night, didn't she? I can totally picture that!"

He snorted. "My wallet? More like my bank account. I don't know how that girl eats so much."

"She's not human, Ruka," Daichi said sombrely. "Of course she can eat inhumane amounts."

Ruka shot Daichi a glare that was about as serious as Daichi's comment – not serious at all. "Hey, that's my girlfriend you're talking about."

"Monsterfriend," Daichi corrected.

"Oh, she's not that bad," I said, waving my hand. "She's just a little intense."

Ruka patted Daichi on the back before looking up at me. "Daichi's just joking around. But you can't ever tell Hotaru about this conversation, Mikan. Or we'll all be killed slowly and painfully."

I looked over his shoulder, my eyes widening in horror. "Oh, hey, Hotaru."

Both Daichi and Ruka whirled around in their seats, to find that Hotaru wasn't there. I walked around the counter, doubled over in laughter at the expressions on their faces, and had to grab the edge of the counter for support until I'd regained my composure.

"You're as evil as she is!" Daichi exclaimed.

"I'm sorry," I said, wiping a tear shed from laughter away from my eye. "I couldn't resist." Before either of them could throw their coffee at me, I swept away to check on the three other customers in the shop, and then went over to the gas bar side of things just as a teenager walked in to pay. After I'd helped him, I wandered back over to Daichi and Ruka.

Ruka still looked a little bit panicked, so I couldn't resist the second round of laughter that was entirely unprofessional but that I just couldn't help. He glared at me once I'd recovered enough to notice.

Daichi stood up, sliding his change to me across the counter. "Well, I'd better get out of here before the girl gives me another heart attack. Heartless, Mikan. Just heartless. See you around, Ruka!"

I grinned and took his money, then waved. He shot me a glare that wasn't serious, and then walked out of the shop guffawing.

"Okay. I'm sorry. That was really mean. But you really should have seen your faces. I kind of wish Hotaru was here, just so she could have gotten a picture of that." I grinned. "Sorry."

He took a long drink from his coffee mug. "She would have kicked me out if she'd heard us talking."

I shook my head. "Nah. She likes you too much."

He smiled faintly. "I like to think so."

"She wouldn't put up with all of this gang drama if she didn't. Hotaru doesn't strike me as the type to put up with stuff if there's nothing in it for her."

He wagged his finger at me. "Right you are. I think she likes you, in her weird way. She doesn't like a lot of people, so you should be honoured."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. It's weird, too. Usually she only admires people who think before they act."

I frowned. "Thank you very much."

"Oh, I didn't mean that to be offensive! It's a very endearing quality you have. And obviously Natsume likes it, too." He folded both hands around his coffee mug. "I'd like to know what's going on between you two."

I looked down, suddenly busy with drying dishes that were already dry. "What are you talking about? There's nothing going on between me and Natsume." As soon as I said it, I realized how futile it was to lie. "Okay, I told you already. I'm attracted to him. Physically."

He arched an eyebrow. "I have this feeling that you're trying to say it as many times as possible to convince yourself, not other people."

"Not true." Although that did make a little bit of sense.

"What did you say to him when he took you back to his apartment? I've been trying to ask him about it but he keeps ignoring my calls." He raised an eyebrow. "So what did your mom give you?"

"Pictures," I replied, and felt a surge of anger at Persona having someone keeping tabs on my mom and catching me in hot water. "From when I was little. It's really complicated, but it meant a lot to me. I'm not working for Hibiki, Ruka."

"I didn't think you were. Neither did Natsume."

"But Persona does," I said sadly. "I really am just causing a boatload of trouble."

He shook his head. "You're doing Natsume a lot of good, as much as he'll deny it and as much as he acts like you don't. You're healthy for him, Mikan, and I really ought to be thanking you for that."

Don't thank me until you're all safely out of this, I wanted to say, but I didn't want to get his hopes up that I was capable of getting them all away from Persona until I had a way to do that.

"Healthy how?" I asked instead, for conversation sake and because I was curious.

He shrugged. "Well, the more time he spends with you – or, I guess, the more time you spend with him, chasing him, stalking him, all in ways different than the way other girls do – the less time he spends brooding. The less time he spends brooding, the less I have to worry about him doing something stupid."

"What do you mean?" I gasped, slamming my hands down on the counter. "He's not depressed, is he?"

"No! God, no. He just thinks everything is his responsibility. He's always brooding because he's always thinking of ways to take care of everybody, make sure nobody gets hurt because of him. All of that brooding just makes him come across as an asshole, which is why it was totally understandable that you thought he was one."

"I still think he is one, but only fifty percent of the time."

Before I could reply, his phone, which was sitting on the counter beside his coffee mug, began to vibrate, moving itself across the surface until his hand closed around it and he picked it up. He held his finger up, excusing himself from our conversation, and flipped the phone open. "Persona."

Swallowing thickly out of a mixture of unease, fear, and hate boiling in the pit of my stomach, I moved away from the counter and did another round of the shop, refilling customers' coffee and staying politely away from the counter so I couldn't hear Ruka's conversation, no matter how curious I was.

When I saw him snap the phone shut and run his hand through his hair – a nervous gesture I'd seen him use more than once – I felt compelled to nearly sprint back over to the counter.

His face was scary pale, accentuating the dark circles under his eyes that I hadn't noticed before. His eyes were no longer a gleaming shade of blue; they'd turned grey and heavy like there was a storm in them. His mouth was drawn in a thin, straight line, and his cheeks suddenly seemed sunken.

"What?" I asked fearfully, panic exploding in my stomach. "What did he say?"

For a moment, he was silent, as if he hadn't heard me. Like he was lost somewhere so deep in his thoughts that my voice couldn't reach him. "Ruka!" I demanded. "What did he say!"

His eyes, distant, flickered to mine. "Natsume's agreed to do the deal."

A/N: Short chapter? Yes. Unfortunately, the next one will also be short. I really wanted to upload this last night, but I was so tired after work, I just couldn't finish it. But it's here now! I'm going to try to get one more chapter in by tomorrow, because I'm going to be gone until Tuesday and therefore, not writing. But I will hopefully have something for you immediately after I get back!

I'm also going on vacation starting next weekend, but I do plan to bring my laptop and continue to write. However, if I don't have internet access, I will not be posting. But we'll see! Thanks so much for the reviews everybody! I read all of them, and if I don't reply to questions you ask it's because I plan to answer them in future chapters!

Note: A lot of you have been asking me to do a Natsume POV chapter, and I think it's a great idea! However, I don't know if I'll be able to do Natsume's character justice because a) I'm not a guy, and b) Natsume is a man of little words so it's hard to picture what he might be thinking. But I'll try my hand at it and if I like the result I'll make a chapter out of it!

Thanks again guys!

xo.