JC: Full of romantic scenes here! Are you mentally prepared for what's going to happen here? Do you think Natsume and Mikan's love story will end happily? What about the curse? Will it continue to haunt the clans? All these questions I'm sure you're asking this yourself. Well, let's not wait any longer. Here's is the 21st chapter of the story. Enjoy reading!!!

Author's Additional Note: The Sakura Family and the Hyuuga family are mostly composed of original characters taken from the Anime and Manga. Keep in mind that the Sakura Clan is rich and very influential. They are a world-renowned family, so it's no wonder they are admired by people. Many characters in this story will be treated as celebrities or royalty. Some OCs will pop up later on to fill in the spaces.

Japanese Terms: Hana (Flower), Tamashii (Spirit), Nandemo Arimasen (It's nothing)

Sakura no Hihou

Chapter 21: Hana no Tamashii

"Mikan no Kimi! Look out!"

Look out for what? Everything was blurry for him.

"I can't let you get rid of me so easily!!!"

That voice…Natsume recognized it. It was Koizumi Masayuki's voice.

"Princess!"

This time it was the voice of Koizumi Luna.

"Sakura!"

That was Ruka's voice.

Just then, his vision cleared and he suddenly sensed disorientation. Then he noticed the object in his hand. It was a blood-soaked dagger. But whose blood was it? Losing strength, he fell to his knees. That was when he noticed a girl dressed in a kimono lying in her own pool of blood. Her back was facing him.

Who was it? It couldn't be her, Natsume wailed. It just can't.

Then everything went black.

A week has passed since he last saw her. It was another day in school. There was nothing interesting around him. It had gotten a whole lot boring for him ever since Mikan disappeared. He went to school, only to find some absentees from class. The mind-reader, the fox-eyed kid, and even the inventor witch were nowhere to be found. The classroom ambiance was surprisingly bleak. The population of the class had severely dropped, due to the fact of a certain illness that came around just last weekend. He was lucky he didn't catch it, but he wished he had it so he wouldn't have to see her.

The one who wanted him dead the most, Koizumi Luna, was sitting right beside him.

"Ohayou, Hyuuga Natsume. Looks like the illness is getting to everyone, how sad…" She put on a fake depressed look. "But it's good to know that it isn't life-threatening. Don't you think that it's like the common cold? Though this illness only affects Alices… By the way, are you feeling well today?"

Natsume put his bag on his table with a poker face. Luna propped up her chin with her hands.

"Are you grasping the situation well?"

He leaned forward and shot a deadly gaze at Luna's fine features. "Tell me: Do you really enjoy tormenting me?"

Luna's face suddenly turned gloomy. "It's my mission to kill my brother's host. I've gotten so used to killing that I sometimes find pleasure in it. Quite disturbing, isn't it? Well, that's how I am. Like what I've told you before, I'll do anything to protect the princess." She shut her lips from then on, ignoring Natsume as she struck up a conversation with a neighboring girl.

Natsume turned to the window, crossed his arms, and stared straight into the sky. No one would tell him anything. The Sakura Family had their mouths sealed. His own clan won't even help him. No surprises there. Most of his family hated his guts. They've never paid attention to him before, so why start now? In any case, threatening people who knew about the situation would be a waste of time.

After school, his feet were auto-piloted towards Mikan's bedroom out of habit. It's a typical reflex action whenever he can't find Mikan.

"Where are you?"

He stared at the floor as he was walking. She did not appear to him since the time he was brought to the alternate world.

When walking towards the bedroom, he passed Sakurano Shuuichi and Imai Subaru. The doctor gave him his infamous icy stare upon seeing him. Not in the mood to engage in a serious staring contest, he briskly gave a light bow and trotted off.

Natsume opened the door to her bedroom. To his utter surprise, Yuka was there.

Yuka ran her amber eyes across his face and returned them to the picture frame in her hands. Her presence there seemed to overwhelm him. Her face, her youthful face, made her look like a teenager. Wearing a long-sleeved off-shoulder orange blouse and a denim skirt, she could pass off as Mikan's twin sister. And she was so inhumanely beautiful that every time she walks around town, people would be dazzled. It's the same with Mikan.

It was a shame that he couldn't keep such beauty in his grasp.

"Is it all right for me to come here?"

Her head nodded firmly, but she did not even lift her head.

He placed his bag down and darted his eyes around the room.

"I miss her a lot," Yuka muttered.

Immediately came a response from his lips: "I feel the same."

Yuka set the picture frame on top of the bedside drawer. Inside the frame was a picture of a ten-year old Mikan and her parents. It was a pretty sight to see, with all their bright smiles on their beautiful faces.

"Still won't talk about it?"

The young-looking mother shook her head. "I'm sorry…" She pulled something out of her pocket. "Here…This is for you…"

Natsume took it from her hand and looked at it closely. Nostalgic sentiments grew. In his hand was a small gift. "This is…"

"Meet me at the Sakura Forest later at midnight," Yuka said. "That's what Mikan told the middle school principal. Then the principal asked me to pass the message to you."

Staring at the pendant he held out for a while, Yuka walked to the door. With a solemn expression, she said, "Treasure every moment with her…"

As midnight came, Natsume dashed out from the mansion and ran quickly into the forest. There was no need to hesitate. This might be the only chance he could see her again.

Once he reached their favorite spot of the forest, he saw her sitting on top of a branch. She had her back towards him. She didn't seem to notice he was there. Under the dim lights at night, her long legs and flowing hair seemed to glimmer in the moonlight.

As he was about to call out to her, she swung backwards and flipped. Landing gracefully on the ground, she turned around playfully. The soft brown hair on her back wavered. "Long time, no see, Natsume," she said, beaming with a smile.

Her beautiful smiling face was just as he remembered. He felt so blown away with her smile.

"I was a bit worried my message wouldn't reach you," she said, and then cutely stuck out her tongue.

As he was looking at her, he began to grow angry. But he wasn't angry at Mikan, neither was he angry at himself.

"Is the curse still bothering you?" Mikan asked him.

He hasn't felt the effects of the curse for a long time. Speaking of which, it was kind of strange really. Sure, Mikan did something to suppress it a long time ago, but shouldn't it be wearing off by now? He felt as though he had no curse in the first place. "SHIT!!!"

Hearing him swear, Mikan's head tilted back. She even blinked. He reached out and grabbed her arm. Mikan didn't resist.

"I know you're doing something reckless. If you think I will let you go through with this, I'm going to let all hell break loose!"

"Can you still produce black flames?"

Natsume merely stared at her in surprise.

"I did it, Natsume."

"What?"

"I got rid of the curse."

"Are you messing with me?"

She shook her head. "After all the effort I gave, this is how you thank me?" She sighed deeply. "You should be glad that the curse is gone."

"But how…?"

Standing side by side while facing the opposite direction, Mikan lowered her head and placed a hand on his shoulder. "The kiss…" As she said that, Natsume turned his head at her. "Do you remember the world I created? It was during that time…" Her eyes met his and then a smile graced her lips. "I can't believe you had no idea." She let out a giggle.

Mikan spun around on her heels and walked back to the tree.

"If that's the case, where were you for the past week?" He was able to ask calmly, though his insides were raging.

"After sucking the curse from your body, I had to purify myself and release the curse into sealed reality. Using energy from the Power Stream, I was able to destroy the curse without any problems. It took longer than expected, though."

He found it hard to believe that his body no longer held the curse. He felt happy. He had wished to be cured for a long time and now his wish was finally granted. The others were right. All they had to do was to believe in Mikan. Mikan was able to create a miracle for the clans.

"But there's still a big problem… Apart from the curse, I—"

"Just shut up and come here." Though his words came out cold, his actions were the expression of his feelings. He pulled her towards him and hugged her so tightly. He was extremely grateful to her, but he didn't know how to thank her enough for all she had done. He couldn't express it in words. Nevertheless, he poured his feelings out as he tightened his grasp around her petite body. "You always do reckless things… I've been so lost and you… You're just full of surprises."

Since it was like this, Mikan lost the heart to break the bad news to him. Though the news wasn't a threat to his life anymore, it would still prove to be fatal for her.

The next day, about five o'clock in the afternoon, almost an hour and a half after school had ended, Natsume walked towards the music room. There was no one in the corridor that was lighted up by the setting sun; the only sounds that could be heard were from the sports clubs that were practicing outside the windows of the corridor. When he reached the door of the music room, he could hear the sounds of people talking alongside the music from the piano and the melodious voice singing.

He pushed open the door. On the other side of the door were a crowd of high school students surrounding Mikan and Ruka.

There were more than ten students from all levels, from the first year to the third year, these people were here to watch the most famous pair showcase their wonderful talents. From the expressions on their faces as they watched Ruka's slender fingers fly across the keyboard and listened to Mikan's heartfelt song, they were all full of admiration for them.

At the end of the song, all the students applauded enthusiastically.

"Mikan-sama, that was a really beautiful song," a fan boy said. His face had a hint of blush.

"And your voice is so divine," another boy said.

"Ruka-kun's piano-playing is really good. I wish I could play as good as you," a fan girl said.

"May we request another performance? Please do entertain us. You two are very good."

Mikan and Ruka looked at each other.

"I guess one more wouldn't hurt," Ruka said.

Mikan nodded her head and faced their fans. "We'll be happy too."

The students got really excited.

Natsume decided to stay in one corner and watch them.

Konna ni mo tooku e futari wa kiteshimatte ano koro no
Osanai kimi no hohoemi ni mou kaerenai ne
Kimi ga warau sekai ga suki de
Soba ni itai sore dake wasurekaketa itami wo mune ni

That was the first song he heard when he first met her. That very song was the one who led him to her.

Time goes by
Toki no nagare wa futari wo kaete yuku keredo
Nakushita mono mo yume miru mono mo sono te wo totte omoidasu yo
Itsumo kimi no soba de

On the night he was attacked, he thought he would finally leave this world that offered him nothing but pain and suffering. He lost a lot of blood on his way to Sakura Forest. The forest was his sanctuary and he knew that dying there would finally give him peace. Under a tree, he lay there and waited for death to come take away his soul.

Kanashii koto sae oboeteokitai kara kimi no chizu ni
Watashi no tame no PEEJI wo nokoshiteoite ne
Mirai kara fukitsukeru kaze wo
Kimi wa ano hi shinjita ashita wa motto takaku maiagare

But then he heard a voice. It was gentle yet passionate. It soothed his tormented soul. He felt so drawn to it. He followed the voice until he reached the biggest tree of the Sakura Forest. There he saw an angel.

Time goes by
Toki ga sugitemo kitto kawaranu mono ga aru no
Todokanai kara mitsuketai kara yume no tsubasa wo sagashi ni yuku
Soba ni ite ne zutto

"You're hurt! Please let me help you!"

"You're going to be fine now."

Time goes by...
Toki no nagare wa futari o kaetteyuku keredo
Nakushita mono mo yume miru mono mo sono te o totte omoidasu yo

"What's your name?"

"I'm Mikan… Sakura Mikan… Nice to meet you!"

"For starters, why don't you build a bridge connecting to me?"

"Natsume, I want you to be my friend."

Time goes by...
Toki ga sugitemo kitto kawareru mono ga aru no
Todokanai kara mitsuketai kara yume no tsubasa o sagashi ni yuku
Soba ni iru yo
Zutto

A small smile graced his lips at the memories he treasured.

The performance was fantastic. The students were all amazed that they started to shower the pair with compliments. Some excitedly discussed their own opinions about them and some started asking questions about the song.

While Mikan and Ruka were busy answering their questions, Natsume had no choice but make them notice his presence in the room by slamming the door hard.

"Ugh…It's Hyuuga Natsume."

"What's that guy doing here anyway?"

"Why can't he wait outside like a good bodyguard? He's so annoying."

"That bastard…"

Murderous looks shot toward him at the same time.

"Natsume, when did you get here?" Mikan said, beaming with a cheerful smile.

"Hey there, Natsume…" Ruka said.

The piercing looks from the students became even sharper.

"Since Natsume's here, we'll stop here today."

Mikan bowed her head in apology as the students objected. They still wanted to hear Ruka play and Mikan sing. Even so, they still left the music room. As they passed by Natsume, some of them, especially the boys, glared at him, while others insulted him quietly.

"Then I'll be going as well," Ruka said. "See you tomorrow, Sakura." He politely bowed at Mikan and walked to the door.

"You were there when the curse was removed," Natsume said before Ruka could walk pass him. "We haven't talked much since then. I've got a lot of questions for you."

"Hmm…I'm sorry. If I told you, I would be severely punished," Ruka said, giving off a calm smile.

And somehow that smile irritated him. "Tch…Whatever…" he said, rolling his eyes.

"When Sakura was singing…Didn't you feel the presence of a flower?"

"Flower?"

"Hana no Tamashii…"

"Huh?"

"Nandemo arimasen…"

Ruka left the room quietly. Natsume realized that his best friend had become an air of mystery as well.

Walking down the corridors, an aura of sullenness radiated from Ruka. Even after all these years he was still in love with Sakura Mikan. Honestly, he was happy for his best friend Natsume, but that doesn't change the fact that it still hurt inside. Love can either be a blissful experience or a painful one. To him it was more of the latter. But what can he do? Mikan and Natsume were very much in love with one another. If he were a bad person, he would probably have done something to destroy their relationship. Good thing he wasn't or else Mikan would end up hating him.

"Don't you plan on telling the princess about your feelings?"

It was Koizumi Luna. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"It'll only confuse her." His voice almost cracked.

"Are you hesitating because of your best friend?"

"No…"

"You'll regret it if you won't tell her."

"There are some things that are meant to be a secret forever."

"Fine…I won't force you." She straightened her body and walked a little closer to Ruka. "But, to tell you the truth, I would have preferred you over that Hyuuga Natsume for the princess. If it were you, then she wouldn't have—"

"Natsume is Sakura's destined person," Ruka said, smiling kindly. "Nothing can ever change that…not even the curse."

"You're a very nice guy, Nogi Ruka," Luna said, smirking, "too nice for my taste."

"I don't know about that. All I know is that I'm being a good friend."

"Hmm…A good friend, huh? Then please continue to be a good friend to Hyuuga Natsume… He'll need it once…" She didn't continue what she planned on saying. She only gave him a light pat on the shoulder and went away.

Even so, Ruka knew what was on her mind and because of that, he felt very distressed.

They had agreed to meet at the entrance to the Mini-Akihabara City. Because it was a Saturday, the city wasn't that flooded with people. Natsume arrived ten minutes earlier than the set time and already he was getting impatient. He was wearing a brown shirt with a black jacket on top, jeans and a pair of black shoes. He knew that his date would be late for sure. Still, despite knowing that, he still came earlier because he was sort of excited to spend the whole day with her alone. Just as he was busy thinking about her…

"Have you been waiting long?"

Unbelievable. She had arrived earlier than expected.

"I thought you'd never get here. I was getting bored waiting for you." He merely lied just to annoy her.

"But I thought I was on time…Oh, well…" Mikan twirled around and then posed. "So, do you like my outfit?

Natsume took a good look at her from head to toe. She was extremely cute. A pink hair clip held the left part of her silky hair, coupled with a sweetheart neckline strapless pink skirt-dress with light-red layered frills on the skirt, and wore a white-blue jacket on top and a pair of black knee-high boots. With this outfit, she really looked like a classy and sophisticated girl. The combination seemed to have amplified her charm even more.

"You look weird."

"Weird?!" Mikan started glaring at him. "I put a lot of effort to look good today and you say I look weird! What's wrong with you?"

He couldn't help but tease at her. He really liked annoying her. But it was also to distract him from staring at her dazedly. "Dummy… I was lying."

Her face was etched with confusion. "Eh? Lying? So…You think I look good?"

Natsume shrugged. Does he really need to answer that? Mikan may not have realized, but since she looked so cute, all eyes had been on her for the past few minutes. Before he could start throwing deadly stares at the guys passing by just to take a good look at Mikan, he grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

"Um…Okay…" Mikan smiled as she slightly blushed. This little action made everyone around her sigh in amazement.

He had been to Akihabara lots of time before. But it was the 15th time he has been to the said city together with Mikan. The first experience was a few years ago when they were in elementary. At that time, they came there with Ruka and the day didn't go smoothly for him. He was overcome with jealousy because Mikan paid more attention to his best friend.

The place was still as crowded as ever. No matter where they turned, they would always see posters of anime, manga and video games.

As they walked across a large road, they saw a group of people cosplaying and performing a scene from an Anime.

Just as he was looking at those people, Mikan suddenly ran off to a store. Sighing in frustration, he slowly walked to where Mikan was headed.

"She's beautiful…"

Her gaze was fixated on a model of Cagalli Yula Athha, a princess from the series Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. The figure was wearing an elegant green dress.

"And that dress…I really love it. Do you think it will suit me?"

Natsume would love to say yes, since any fine-looking dress would suit her, but it wasn't in his character to say something nice just like that. "Stop dreaming. You'll never be like that princess. Besides, you'll just trip in that dress."

Mikan pouted. "You're so mean!"

"Just reminding you that you're clumsy…That's all."

"Well, sorry for being clumsy," she said, placing her hands on her waist.

He was successful in annoying her again. He'll never get tired of it. Then again he knew that if he kept up his nonchalant attitude, the dating mood would be ruined. "Being clumsy is a bonus for you than a flaw…" he said, turning his head away.

Mikan blinked in surprise. "A bonus?" She thought about it for a while. "Hmm…I don't get what you mean, but I guess I should take it as a compliment." She laughed happily.

Her smile and laughter were such a sight for him. She can really attract the affection of others.

When lunchtime came, the couple went to a Maid Café.

"Looks like there aren't a lot of people inside yet," Mikan pointed out. "Isn't that great? I know how much you dislike crowded places." She sounded so joyful.

Natsume merely shrugged in reply.

The exterior of the café gave people a sweet and cute impression. The inside decoration had white as its basic theme.

They sat down at a table beside the window and looked at the menu.

"Welcome to our café! May I take your order?" A girl dressed in a maid outfit came to their table.

"Your maid costume is very cute," Mikan said to the waitress.

"Thank you very much, Sakura-sama," the waitress replied, smiling widely.

"Eh? You know who I am?"

Natsume silently sighed at her naivety. Mikan was the princess of the great Sakura Clan, so it's no wonder she's popular.

"Of course… You are Sakura Mikan-sama, the Sakura Clan princess," the waitress said.

"Is that so? Well, please do treat me like your other customers."

"If that is what you wish, then I will do just that."

"Hmm…In another café I went, the waitresses there were wearing different costumes. Do you get to wear different costumes as well?"

"Yes, on other days… Tomorrow we're scheduled to wear sailor uniforms."

"You know, I want to try on a Final Fantasy costume. Natsume was playing Final Fantasy yesterday and I really fell in love with one of the characters' outfit."

Mikan had a dreamy look in her eyes. Natsume silently imagined how Mikan would look like in that character's outfit.

"Hmm…Umm...Sakura-sama, please wait for a while." The maid bowed before running off towards the employee area of the café. After a while, the maid came running back. "Sakura-sama and Mr. Bodyguard, please follow me."

"Huh? Why?" Mikan asked innocently.

"I talked to the manager and she said she'll allow you to dress up in the outfit you wanted."

"Are you for real? Wow! Thank you!" Mikan gave off a bright smile, causing the maid to blush in embarrassment.

They were brought to the photo studio section of the café. There was a dressing room, where Mikan was dragged to by the maid. It seemed like the maid was quite excited to see Mikan in the outfit as well, considering that she was a Sakura Fan. It was pretty obvious for Natsume. After 10 minutes of waiting, Natsume's eyes were graced by the beauty that appeared before him.

It was Mikan. Then again it was Oerba Dia Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII at the same time. Vanille's outfit looked great on Mikan. Her hair was dyed pinkish-orange and styled in two low pigtails. The haltered pink top that exposed her midriff, which reminded Natsume again of her slim figure, had beads around it that were all connected by a pendant. The brown necklace around her neck was traditional and decorated with colorful beads. Her orange loose skirt was so short and the fur sash she was wearing looked so realistic. A pair of yellow boots completed her Vanille-look. In addition to that, the character Vanille had so much in common with Mikan. The two girls were both lovely with a relentlessly sunny disposition.

Natsume was completely speechless. Truth to be known, Vanille's was Natsume's favorite character in Final Fantasy XIII because she reminded him so much of Mikan. And to see Vanille right now was like a dream come true.

Blushing, Mikan lowered her head and shyly asked, "Um…What do you think? Does it look good on me?"

Natsume stayed silent. He was trying his best not to lose composure.

"Is there something wrong? Don't tell me it doesn't suit me?" She was fiddling with her fingers at this point.

Damn… He was going crazy inside. Mikan looked too cute.

"Natsume, why aren't you saying anything?"

Lowering his head until his bangs hid his eyes, Natsume said something that he would rarely say. "You look beautiful… It really suits you." To his surprise, he managed to say that with a straight voice and a calm face.

She was shocked for a while, but she immediately changed her expression to a more cheerful one. "Wow! Natsume complimented me! I'm so happy!" She approached him and held his hands. "Thank you, Natsume. I was worried, you know. I thought you wouldn't like it, so I'm really happy to hear that from you."

If she doesn't get away in five seconds, Natsume would lose control and hug her like crazy. But before anything else, the maid butted in with perfect timing.

"Sakura-sama, please let me take a picture of you," the maid said, showing off her digital camera. "This is such a rare chance for me to see you in a costume. You look very cute."

"Let's all be in the picture!" Mikan said excitedly. "Hope that's okay?"

"Of course…"

And so, the Vanille-cosplayer, the lovely maid, and Natsume posed for the camera. The girls gave their best smiles while Natsume kept up the cold façade.

After having lunch and getting a copy of the picture, they left the café.

"I want to buy something from that store. Would you mind waiting for me here?" Mikan asked.

"Sure…Whatever…"

Mikan pranced away and went into the store. Natsume sat down on a bench in front, staring blankly at Mikan.

"Well…Well…If it isn't Hyuuga Natsume…"

A voice he dreaded came from the crowd. He pretended not to hear the voice.

"How rude of you to ignore me…"

Natsume wanted to punch her so badly. "What do you want?" He simply refused to turn and face Koizumi Luna. "What are you doing here anyway? Aren't you too old to be interested in Anime?"

"If you still had the curse, I would have killed you."

"Too bad for you…I'm cured…"

"Yes, you were saved from a cruel fate…at the expense of someone's—" She wasn't able to finish because Mikan came running back.

"Natsume, I just bought a new ribbon! I'm going to wear it tomorrow," she said, waving the small paper bag in front of his face.

"Whatever…" came his nonchalant reply. Taking a peer over his shoulders, he found no Koizumi Luna standing behind him. It seemed like she quickly hid herself from Mikan. Good riddance.

After an hour and a half of window shopping, two hours of playing in the arcade, and three hours at the amusement park, Mikan and Natsume stopped by at the park to rest before returning home. It was night time by then.

"I had a lot of fun today!" Mikan uttered, stretching out her arms. "Going on a date with your boyfriend is the best!"

If he were like those typical guys out there, he would blush right about now.

Mikan jumped off the bench, twirled around, and faced him with a smile. "Let's do this again soon, okay?" She winked an eye. "Do you think next Saturday will be good? What do you think we should—"

He thought she was going to blab more, which he was prepared to ignore, but what happened next was unexpected.

As if she had been shot, Mikan stood there like a statue. Her eyes were devoid of all light. She usually looked cheerfully and always clumsy, but the blank expression of hers was surprising.

"Polka-dots, what's the matter with you? Hey, polka-dots…" Natsume reached out and touched her shoulders. "Hey, polka-dots… Mikan!"

Upon hearing her name, Mikan finally came back to reality, but she had a dead look in her eyes.

"I-I'm all right… I guess I'm a little tired." After saying that, Mikan's body suddenly fell backward.

The second before Mikan slammed into the ground, Natsume caught her. "Mikan, what the hell is wrong? Mikan!"

Mikan squeezed her eyes together just to look at him. "Um…Nothing is wrong. I'm just tired…" she said in a soft voice.

"Do you take me as an idiot? Something is obviously wrong!" he yelled at her, not caring if other people could hear. He carried her bridal style. This action led people to misunderstand the situation. Using a Teleportation Alice stone, he transported with her to the Sakura Forest.

It was a good thing Mikan was as light as a feather. Natsume didn't have a hard time carrying her in his arms while walking to their favorite spot in the forest. She was completely unconscious. Though he was sure she didn't just faint due to being tired, he couldn't help but to blame himself for not noticing there was something wrong with her. And he was supposed to be the one watching over her.

Reaching the place, he placed her light under the giant Sakura Tree and finally relaxed.

The reason for her fainting… Was it because of the curse? Was it because of what she did to get rid of the curse?

Natsume thought of all that and worried about her at the same time.

"Hmm…Ah…" Mikan made a little noise—a sign of waking up. Slowly she opened her eyes to meet his crimson ones. "Natsume…"

"You're good at making people worry, you klutz."

"Sorry…" was her faint reply.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Sitting up, she nodded. "Where are we? Ah! The forest?! When did we get here?"

"Teleportation… If I brought you to the mansion, a lot of people would scold me for sure."

"Hmm…Thanks for bringing me here. You know, I think I fainted because I wasn't able to get enough sleep yesterday night. I was really looking forward to today, so I couldn't bear to close my eyes."

"You're so childish as usual," Natsume said, and a pout escaped from Mikan's lips. "Only a kid would get as excited as you do."

"I just wanted to spend much time with you… That's why I was so excited…"

"I guess there's nothing wrong about acting like a child sometimes." He turned his head to look at her. At that moment, his eyes met hers.

They lapsed into silence, gazing deeply at one another. Natsume couldn't bear to move his gaze away from Mikan's beautiful features, her lightly blushing cheeks, and her luscious lips. His heart was beating furiously, despite keeping a calm front and a controlled breathing. Gradually his hand moved towards her face. As he was about to caress her cheek, the silence was broken.

Her cellphone rang. The tune was the Victory Theme from Final Fantasy. Frantically she rummaged through her bag for it. When she found it, she immediately answered. "Hello? Ah… Otou-san!"

Yukihira Izumi was on the line. "Mikan, where are you? It's getting late."

"I'm with Natsume right now. I know it's late but…" She looked up at Natsume, who had his back facing her. "Otou-san…May I make a request?" She stood up and walked a few distances away so she couldn't be heard.

"And what would that be?"

"Please let me spend more time with Natsume…"

There was a moment of silence.

Izumi was clearly thinking hard about it.

"All right," Izumi said with a sigh. "But please…don't do anything extreme... I know how much you two love each other."

Mikan smiled. "Arigato, otou-san. I love you!"

"I love you too. Take care." After that, the call ended.

She went back to Natsume, who still had his back turned. Smiling to herself, she knelt down and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I enjoyed myself today…" she whispered softly into his ear. "Thank you, Natsume… I'm glad I'm in love with you." She started sobbing as she leaned her temple against the back of his head.

Though the reason for her sobs was unknown to him, Natsume hated to see her cry. He carefully stood up and turned around. Now he saw her on her knees with her face buried in her hands. "What's with the waterworks? Is there something to be sad about? Didn't you say you enjoyed yourself today? You're so confusing, you clumsy girl."

"I know I shouldn't be crying," she said, lifting her head up to look at him. Her amber eyes were filled with tears. "But I can't help it. Tears just came out all of a sudden."

"Mikan, are you trying to tell me something?"

She gave no answer.

"Do you intend on keeping the promise you made to me?"

"Yes…"

"Then why do I get this awful feeling?"

"Natsume…" Her sobs have stopped. As she got up, she wiped the tears away from her eyes. She looked straight at him. Resting her hands lightly on his shoulders, she rose up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss on his lips.

He stiffened, clenching his fists against a savage rush of longing. The enchanting softness of her breasts brushed his chest. "Mikan…"

"I'll never leave you because I love you so much…"

Growling his surrender, Natsume wrapped his arms around her and dragged her into his embrace. He then kissed her on the lips. He tried to temper his hunger with tenderness, but she welcomed the bold thrust of his tongue, twining her arms around his neck and kissing him back with a ferocious need that matched his own.

She stroked her fingers through his unruly hair, gentling him with nothing more than her touch and whisper of her sigh against his lips.

Still savoring the sweetness of her mouth, he slipped one arm beneath her hips, lifting her as if she was weightless. Activating the Teleportation stone, they appeared in her bed room. As he carried her towards the bed, she wrapped her legs around his waist, coaxing a strangled sound from deep in his throat.

He laid her back on the bed, eager to devour her with his eyes. As he drew back to tug off his shirt, she watched him, her eyes misty in the moonlight. He kissed her hotly, so passionately. His mouth slanted over hers again and again, drugging her with a thick, sweet delight that flowed like honey through her veins. As that clever mouth of his worked its way to the corner of her mouth to the curve of her jaw, she closed her eyes and breathed out a shaky sigh.

"Natsume…"

"You're all I ever wanted," he whispered to her.

"Please…take me…"

As his lips grazed her throat, a shudder wracked his body. She was so irresistible. He felt like he was going to release the savage beast within. "Mikan…I love you…" As he said those words, he could have sworn that he smelled the alluring fragrance of a flower.

To be continued…

JC: OKAY STOP!!! I'm not going further with the whole sex thing. Sorry for those who wanted lemon, but I'm not that comfortable writing about it right now. But they really did it, so there. And it's safe to say that since they're in high school, having sex at that age is pretty normal nowadays. What are you ideas for this story's ending? I'll be glad to hear them out. But this isn't like those fairy tale endings. Mikan will be on another date in the next chapter, but it won't be with Natsume. Who do you think it is?

Next Chapter: "Sakurakage" The Sakura Shade