"Mikan…" Hotaru Imai murmured as she stepped into the dressing room located in the back of the stage. The start of the Aladdin play was only moments away and the said brunette was frantically trying to make herself look presentable at the last minute. Hotaru watched as the nullifier brushed her waist length brown hair frantically, before sighing and moving forward to help her. She wordlessly snatched the brush away from her best friend and began to run it through her hair for her.

"Thanks Hotaru," Mikan thanked her sincerely, while quickly straightening her Jasmine costume. Hotaru easily got Mikan's hair up into the perfect imitation of Jasmine's hairstyle, ribbons and all. Once the two finally finished getting Mikan dressed up, a knock came at the door and Ruka poked his head in.

"Everyone is waiting for you, Mikan," the blonde informed them. He looked slightly embarrassed and it wasn't until Hotaru noticed that he had his rug costume folded over his arm that she understood why. She smirked, enjoying how flustered her boyfriend looked.

"Has the play started already?!" Mikan exclaimed, looking shocked. She looked up at the wall clock. How long has she been getting ready for?! Ruka just nodded his head in confirmation.

"Don't worry. You're fine," he reassured her. "It's gonna start in a couple minutes though." Mikan nodded and rushed out the door quickly, leaving Hotaru and Ruka alone.

Ruka sweatdropped once he realized that Hotaru was smirking at him. A light blush coated his cheeks as he held his costume.

"I'm going to look ridiculous," he muttered. Hotaru looked slightly amused as she made her way toward him. Ruka blinked in confusion as his girlfriend approached him. His blue eyes widened as the stoic inventor tiptoed so that she could place a sweet kiss on his cheek.

"Do your best out there," she whispered in his ear. "I'll be watching." Ruka blushed a bit darker and nodded his head. Hotaru smirked once more before leaving her boyfriend to change into his costume.

---Scene Change---

Mikan silently made her way to the stage and was greeted by Narumi, who rushed toward her, a look of excitement on his face.

"Mikan-chan!" he exclaimed. "There's been a slight change in the scenes…" he trailed off. Mikan's eyebrows furrowed. She tilted her head to the side.

"Slight change?" she echoed. Narumi nodded, while scratching the back of his head sheepishly, which only confused Mikan further. What was going on?

Mikan let her eyes wander to the other actors. Everything seemed in order. Everyone was rushing around, trying to get the stage set up. Anna and Nonoko were helping out with make-up, others were reviewing their lines and helping each other with their costumes. Mikan almost missed what the giant banner hanging above the stage said:

Almost Aladdin

Mikan stared up at the banner for a brief moment, before turning to Narumi questioningly, who just shrugged in response.

"Like I said, Mikan-chan" he began simply. "There are going to be some slight changes to the play." Mikan just stared at him, but before she could question him any further, the curtain rose. Narumi pulled the small girl to the side so that she wouldn't be seen by the audience.

Yuu Tobita, who was the narrator for the play, stepped out onto the stage. He was dressed as a market person and held the magic lamp in his hands. He pushed his glasses up onto his nose nervously, before speaking.

"T-thank you… f-for coming to… see the play tonight.." Mikan almost chuckled. Poor Yuu. He looked so nervous. She could practically see the sweat starting to form on the sides of his head.

Mikan felt for him. She knew how shy the boy could be and he was up there having to summarize the story of Aladdin. Mikan listened politely from the sidelines until something Yuu said made her ears twitch.

"We.. f-found that.. Almost Aladdin was more accurate…b-because this play might not be what you all are used to… or- m-might have ..expected… but.. uhh.. please enjoy it anyway!" With that, Yuu ducked his head in a short bow before hurriedly making his way off the stage.

There was brief silence in the audience. A stilling and awkward silence. Until, one random individual began to clap a bit unsurely, naturally causing the rest of the audience to clap, somewhat reluctantly.

"Don't choke up there, Polka-dots."

Mikan's eyes widened and she turned around swiftly to face the infamous black cat. She was about to snap at him for the uncalled for nickname, but was unable to at the sight before her.

Natsume was clad in nothing but tattered white pants and that purple vest, leaving his chest for the world to see. Mikan gaped at this briefly, before turning her head away to hide her blushing face.

"I-I'm not gonna choke…" she said finally once she was able to compose herself. Her already reddened face deepened in color, causing Natsume to smirk. He leaned forward toward the girl, who still had her face turned away from him so she wasn't aware that his face was now mere inches away from her own.

"You're blushing, Polka," he teased, leaning forward a bit more so that he could whisper in he ear. "So you must be falling for me after all." Mikan's head snapped up at that. If possible, the blush upon her cheeks darkened even more. Much to Natsume's confusion, so did her eyes. So quickly that he wasn't even sure how it happened, Mikan set her hands on the boy's bare chest before shoving him away. Hard. Mikan actually pushed him hard enough so that the black cat fell backwards.

Natsume opened his mouth to snap at her, but Mikan beat him to it.

"You pervert!" she screeched, making Natsume raise an eyebrow at her sudden outburst. "Why would I fall for someone like you?!" The flame caster's eyes widened in astonishment when Mikan suddenly tried to flee from the scene. He was too quick for her however and quickly caught her by the wrist as she ran passed him.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" he demanded to know. He spun her around so that she was facing him. His crimson eyes widened in shock once he realized that tears were making their way down the girl's cheeks. He was even more surprised when the girl snapped her head up briefly to look at him in the face.

The nullifier's bottom lip quivered as she unsuccessfully attempted to fight the tears back. Mikan's hands were clenched tightly into fists at her sides, but what really caught Natsume off guard was that the girl's cheeks were still a dark red color. For once, Natsume was at a loss for words as he tried to make sense of his Polka-dot's expression.

Mikan, wanting nothing more than to get away from Natsume, did exactly that. She roughly yanked her wrist out of the black cat's tenacious grasp, before running as fast as her legs would carry her, leaving Natsume to just stare after her in astonishment.

It was silent for a good long minute, before Koko, who was playing the part of one of the guards, threw his sword down on the ground and shook his head in dismay.

"Well… there goes our Jasmine…" he sighed, but then froze and shrugged sheepishly when a bunch of dirty looks were sent his way. He just laughed nervously, while Narumi stepped out onto the stage. He faced the audience and gave them a sheepish grin.

"Well…. Almost Aladdin will have to be postponed while we work out some… technical difficulties… in the mean time… uhh…. Talk amongst yourselves!"

Ruka sighed and rubbed at his temples warily, while Hotaru glared daggers at Natsume, who still hadn't moved since Mikan left.