Disclaimer: I do not own GA or any of its characters.

Thanks a lot for reviewing:

Princess Mei Mikan - thanks

hopelessly in love with you - i know.. but well it was him or Yuu.. and I had plans for Yuu..

sapphireangel09 - thanks!

Kylee-cat - Mikan does not mind the blood, but she does mind Natsume giving it to her without her permission. I think she will be ok in such a life and death situation.

crimson siege - i dunno abt being lazy with the reviews.. but u need to be more creative with your bribes. I shall take the choco chips, and thou shall find me something more interesting to put in this review. Pretty please?

Lena - awww thanks :)

random reader - LOL. i am glad my story made u review.. and even more happy that u read it :) yeah the summary is.. just yeah. I hope u keep reading and reviewing, and most of all, you keep enjoying the fic :)

KeroNya - LOL low in calorie? ah well.. if u say so.. anywho.. i hope u get well. if u havent already.. n hope this update makes u better yet!

Serenity012 - thanks! and yeah.. i like Anna being smart.

nightrain12345 - thank you :) i m glad my characters r realistic.

killerkillua19 - thanks! n i m not all that worried abt u being demanding. i m not that fragile, so dont worry so much! i m glad u sent me so many reviews! oh n its a Ms. btw.

LilBlueBear - thank you :)

Author Note: Enjoy :) and do NOT hate me!

Chapter 21

"Wh..who are you?"

Natsume stared at the genuine confusion and suspicion in Mikan's eyes and felt his world tilt. Then he took a deep breath and pulled himself together. Now was not the time.

"My name is Natsume Hyuuga. Do you remember me at all?" he asked gently.

She looked at him with doe eyes, before slowly sitting up. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest, but she did it any way. She did not want to be vulnerable and lying on your back in a bed was vulnerable. Lying down was vulnerable, period. At least her instinct was telling her to trust this man. She was grateful because she did not think she was in any condition to fight any one.

She could see he wanted to help her, but he could also sense her need to sit up on her own and stayed back. She liked that more than she would ever let on.

"Where are we?" She asked, ignoring his question about how much she remembered him.

"My bedroom." Natsume answered, and on seeing panic start to swirl in her eyes, he added. "Still in Savielt."

Mikan managed a nod. She had managed to sit with her back resting against the headboard and a mound of pillows. Her gaze was on Natsume though as she finally took in his appearance.

He was sprawled in a large chair, but still she guessed he was over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a fit, muscled body, though in a way that could only be achieved by real work, and not a gym. He was wearing black pants and a white silk shirt, though both were rumpled like he had slept in them, or kept watch over me in them, Mikan mused. He had high cheekbones, full lips, and crimson eyes that were fixed on her. His hair was jet black and the silky strands fell straight down in a careless fashion. Somehow her eyes were next drawn to her hands. From his frame one might have thought that they would be crude or rough, but while they were large, his hands tapered gracefully, with long fingers that were even now curled around each other, in an obvious effort to hold himself back.

His golden skin gleamed more upon his hands than it had upon his face, and she looked up again to meet his eyes. Surely if she had met this man before, she would have remembered him.

Natsume seemed to have read this conclusion on her face.

"What is the last thing you do remember?" he asked.

Mikan thought about it, and an involuntary shudder ripped through her.

Natsume was next to her in an instant, his arm going around her, as he pulled her into the curve of his body, warming her with his own body heat.

Mikan looked up at him, and there was nothing but concern on his face, nothing but absolute and complete love and acceptance.

That was when she knew.

She truly had forgotten this man.

She had forgotten the time spent with him.

She had forgotten loving him.

Her body had not.

Even before her mind had come to these conclusions, her body had relaxed, melting to his side.

Natsume gently stroked her hair back from her face.

"Shh.. it's okay now. I've got you."

"I remember trying to run away from him, and I remember him catching me." Mikan whispered. She did not say his name, or say who he was to her. She would not risk it. What if she had not told Natsume she was married? What if he was scared of Persona? Or owed him something? She just could not take that chance.

"Persona will never catch you again. You're free now, love. You're a divorcee, not a wife." Natsume sad softly and Mikan looked up sharply, unable to believe her ears.

"It's true." Natsume answered, reading her disbelief correctly. "The papers are gone for filing at the court right now, but you can see them for yourself as soon as they are back."

Mikan nodded.

Natsume smiled.

"What would you like to do now? Rest? Come look at the rest of the house? TV?" Natsume asked carefully.

"You don't want to tell me what I have forgotten." Mikan said with a shake of her head. She was sure of it, but he surprised her when he agreed, instead of lying.

"Not yet. The doctor said this might happen. He also said not to remind you on purpose but to wait for you to remember things on your own. So I'll listen to him for a few days, until you feel better, and then I will tell you anything that you want to know." Natsume answered.

Mikan had a brief flash in her mind. Natsume telling her he would give her anything that she wanted. Anything at all. Then it was gone and she was not sure if she had imagined it or if it was real.

"Maybe some more sleep." Mikan finally said.

"All right."

Natsume helped her lie down and she was surprised by his strength. She found herself tucked in real soon and then not very long after that, she drifted into a long dream filled sleep.

"So nothing?" Ruka asked.

Natsume shook his head.

"Maybe I can talk to her." Anna wondered.

"Possibly, but let us keep you as a reserve card. If she leaves, then you are the person she will go to. If we bring you in, then we will have no way of controlling where she does go." Natsume answered.

"So she should not meet me either. That way, I can meet her at Anna's too, if needed." Yuu answered.

Natsume nodded.

"There is one more thing, brother." Ruka said, and his face was filled with pain.

Natsume motioned for him to go ahead.

"Mikan was pregnant when she was poisoned." Ruka said, and Natsume became deathly still.

"We only realized it when she miscarried. Since it's impossible for conception to take place unless a vampire is bonded to his Rasa, it never occurred to us to check. We failed you." Ruka finished.

Natsume did not say anything, and his face looked like it had been wiped clean of all expressions.

Then he stood up and left. He sat next to Mikan while she slept, saying nothing, just watching her. It was after an hour of this that he got up and came downstairs to the main hall and called all his vampires.

"Anna, will you allow Yuu to stay in your house for a while?" he asked.

Anna nodded.

"Yuu, you are to stay with her, until I tell you otherwise."

"Yes Master." Yuu replied.

"Ruka go through Section B I to C V of the library and tell me what you find."

"Yes brother."

"Tsubasa find out everything about how Koko escaped and if he is working with Kendiar or if he is working alone. Get all information you can from the humans he hired, and then hire some humans of our own to track him. I want his head on a pike, literally."

"Yes Master."

"Tono, Savielt is your responsibility. Everything that happens in this city that may affect us, I want to know about it. The security of the mansion is also under you. No more breaches, and no more mercy."

"Yes Master."

"Make yourselves scarce, since I do not want Mikan to see any of you until she has her memories back." Natsume ordered, and within moments the room was emptied of all except Yuu, Anna, Ruka and Hotaru.

"Would you like me to leave the mansion?" Hotaru asked, and her words were neutral.

Natsume shook her head.

"Avoid her, and if you wish to, help Ruka with his work. If you do meet Mikan, tell her the truth, that you are my younger brother's wife." Natsume answered.

Hotaru nodded, and she left the room with Ruka.

"Will you be all right?" Anna asked quietly.

Natsume looked at her for a long moment, before he smiled slightly, and between one breath and the next he was in front of her. He reached up and gently cupped her cheek.

"Eventually all wounds heal, child, and I am far older than I look. I will be 'all right'. I only hope that she will be too when I tell her about this." Natsume said quietly.

Anna was surprised to hear him refer to her as a child, but even more so to hear him say that he would tell Mikan about the miscarriage. He seemed to have read it in her expression.

"I promised her, no more secrets. I will keep my word, but only because it would break her heart twice, if she found out that I lied." Natsume said sadly, before stepping back. "Go home now, and let Yuu keep you safe."

Anna nodded, her throat too choked with tears for her to speak before Yuu led her from the room.

Natsume watched them all go, before heading back to the side of the only woman he had ever loved. She was awake and waiting for him.

"How did I get hurt?" Mikan asked.

Natsume considered his options for a moment before he picked up the remote from the bedside table and turned the TV on. The huge screen came to life and it did not take him long to find what he was looking for. The story was now a few days old, but it was still a very big deal.

Mikan watched in fascination as a news caster told the facts about the rampage of two gun toting individuals in an exclusive party hosted by the reclusive billionaire Natsume Hyuuga in the honour of his girlfriend. The identity of the lady was undisclosed to the media, and so were the injuries suffered by her, though it had been told that she had been hurt.

It was being considered a miracle that there had been no fatalities.

Mikan looked back at Natsume.

He had been introducing her to the most important people in this city. She had been the guest of honour in that party. His clothes could have been from that night, and somehow she knew that they were. He would not have bothered with something like changing clothes, unless he absolutely had to, while he was worried about her.

She knew all this, while she did not even know how long she had known him.

"Do not worry so, love. I am right here, and my heart is not a fragile thing, made of glass. Your recovery comes first." Natsume answered her thoughts.

"Tell me the little things." Mikan whispered, looking deep into his crimson eyes. He did not insult her by pretending he did not know what she was talking about or by not noticing that she had made room for him next to her in the bed. She had given him a choice. He could stay. He could leave.

There was no choice.

Not for him.

Natsume slid in bed, his arm going around her, his body lightly tugging hers into the curve of his own. Mikan found herself relaxing into him. It was so strange. She was used to being hurt, being manhandled, yet somehow, her body was used to his care, his warmth, and was always craving for more.

Then Natsume did tell her the little things.

He told her of the light that glinted on the ends of her hair.

He told her of how his brother had walked in on them sleeping and taken a picture. He even showed her the picture when she badgered him.

He told her how she liked to hum when she was reading, and he liked to listen.

He told her about the anklet he had given her, and when she told him to, he gently wrapped it around her left foot, just the way she liked it.

He told her about the soft whispers shared in the middle of the cool nights and hot mornings.

He talked until finally Mikan believed him with her heart and mind and soul, even though she still remembered nothing.

He talked until she kissed the words from his lips and tears from his eyes, until they both fell asleep together into a dreamless oblivion, entwined as if two halves of a whole that had been separated too long and had finally come together.