Disclaimer: I do not, repeat do not, own Gakuen Alice… I wish I did though… The song's definitely not mine either…

Summary: The academy's finally getting serious about dealing with Mikan's alices, and the Dangerous Ability Class is getting a new teacher in the bargain. What's going to happen next?

Chapter 35

Natsume was awakened by the smell of the brewing coffee. He turned in bed to find Kana gone as usual, before glancing out the siding glass door to the dark sky outside. It wasn't even four in the morning, and the cold, stormy weather was urging him to go back to sleep. He was about to drift back to the land of dreams when someone started poking his side. Growling grumpily, he wrapped the blanket over his head.

He heard someone sigh above him before the blanket was ripped off of him. His body involuntarily shivered as the cold air hit his barely clad form. "Wake up, Hyuuga. Nee-chan asked me to make sure you get up for your training." She grabbed him by one of his ankle and started pulling, "Come on, Lazybones. You're supposed to join me for my morning jog."

Natsume gave an upset groan but got out of bed. He stood up in front of her, rubbing his face. His eyes were squinted and beady, his hair still sticking up in odd directions from sleep. Mikan turned around, hiding her smile and repressing the urge to cuddle him. Natsume looked absolutely adorable just now.

"Coffee's ready in the kitchen. Drink a cup, and then we'll head out," she instructed. Mikan sighed loudly after Natsume had groggily headed for the kitchen. She walked towards the balcony to judge the weather outside. A slight drizzle was peppering the air, making the morning moist and gray. True to his word Demon held off the storm only until the last dance ended.

She smiled at the thought of last night. Fans had besieged her three brothers and her after the concert, but they kept a wary distance from Demon and Angel. With those two, they know that they can only look. Touching and getting too close is expressly not allowed. Duncan had gone into hiding at the sight of fan girls rushing up at him, but Dare and Duke had enjoyed soaking in all the female attention headed their way. As for her, they'd kept her on the run that she didn't have time to change into her gown for the last dance. She'd retreated into the forest to keep from being overwhelmed by the boys chasing after her. After she'd stepped out of the forest with Natsume, they created the usual barrier with their alices to keep their fans away from them. The only ones allowed near them were the gang and her family members. She also remembered seeing Hotaru hitting a couple of their fans with her baka gun when they tried to insinuate themselves into the group to gain entry.

She heard the front door of her room open then slam shut. Natsume must have gone to his room to change. She grabbed a hooded jacket and went on ahead to wait of him on the stairway going down.

"You do know that Imai's got bugs on your room, don't you?" Kana asked him as they headed downstairs.

"Yeah, but I got rid of them already." He glanced at her in the corner of his eye. "You did tell me to clean up the bugs in my room." They stepped out of the dormitory and raised the hoods on their jackets.

"I'm surprised. You do know how to listen once in a while." With that, she took off in a sprint, leaving Natsume to catch up to her. While jogging, she thought about some of the other events of the night.

Due to their fandom, she'd virtually joined Natsume in skulking in the shadows, but the rest of the night when smoothly. She recalled Koko and Ruka asking Nonoko and Hotaru, respectively, to dance with them. Youichi had also surprised everyone last night when he literallydragged Ayane to dance the last dance with him. A conversation she had with Yuu and Anna then came to mind. Those two were undoubtedly made for each other.

-Flashback-

"Why don't the two of you just go ahead and dance?" she asked them bluntly, stepping out of the shadows only after making sure none of her fan boys where around. She can tell they were itching to ask each other to dance, but couldn't voice it out. Her two blushing, flustered friends, namely Yuu and Anna, stammered out their explanation about not being together like that. And explained to her what the last dance signifies.

"Well, if anyone who danced the last dance together is supposed to end up with a 'happily ever after', can't there be a 'happily ever after' for your friendship?" she inquired with a diminutive smile. "Even though both of you are destined for another person. Wouldn't the two of you like to end up 'happily ever after' as good friends, like you are now?"

Yuu and Anna had stared at each other for a moment before heading of to the dancing area.

-End of Flashback-

Natsume noticed a corner of her lips turn up, and couldn't help teasing her. "So, you enjoy having a handsome male specimen jogging beside you," he stated with a straight face.

Kana snapped out of her thoughts and quickly caught on that he was teasing her. "Yeah I actually do," she replied stoically. "Too bad Onii-chan rarely jogs with me. And when he does, I have a hard time keeping up with him at his regular pace." She paused in thought. "I suppose I can consider Shadow handsome." She paused again, thinking about the big, black wolf with his thick, glossy fur. "He's also very affectionate while jogging with me." She recalled how he nudges her gently to spur her on, and how he licks the side of her face as a reward when she finished faster than her previous time.

Natsume frowned. Some other guy jogging with her doesn't suit well with him. If his suspicions were correct, and she really was Mikan, he doesn't want any "affectionate guy" jogging with her at all.

They barely cleared one side of the academy, and Natsume was starting to feel fatigue setting in. Kana jogged beside him, not even breathing irregularly. Well, he's not going to get beaten by a girl. His pride won't let him. He kept in pace with her.

After a single lap, Mikan noticed that Natsume was exponentially slowing down. She decreased her pace and stayed beside him, a little worried that he might push himself too hard.

Natsume scarcely made it through the two laps on his feet. If it wasn't for his pride, he'd probably crawled the last hundred meters on all fours. But as it is, he slumped down against a tree as soon as they finished. "Hey, you alright there?" Kana asked, squatting in front of him. Hell and damnation! The woman wasn't even out of breath.

"I'm fine," he growled but used the tree to lever himself up, a slight contradiction to his words.

Kana eyed him for a moment and decided to take his word, even if she knew otherwise. "Since you're fine then you wouldn't mind that we'll have some more training to do." She took out her cellphone and sent a message to Angel.

Angel appeared instantly, teleporting in front of them. "Let's proceed with your training. The two of you need to be ready before the mission that will be assigned to you next week." The two students turned their full attention on her. "Yes, I'm talking about the two of you doing a mission together. The details will be given to you by next week. For now, you'll be having a sparring match as your training." Natsume and Mikan just gawk at her. "What are you two waiting for?" she rolled her eyes. "Get started now!"

The sixteen-year-olds stared at each other for a moment before hesitantly getting to their fighting stance. Mikan started the fight, charging towards Natsume and executing a high kick. Natsume blocked it with his arm and countered with a punch which she blocked in turn. The fight went on for hours, but Mikan began noticing that Natsume's movements were slowing down. She let up a bit matching his remaining strength.

After an hour more, the fight under the downpour came to a halt. Mikan lay serenely sprawled on the damp grass, the rain gently beating against her masked face. Beside her, Natsume was spread out flat on his back, his breaths coming in small pants. She had to say, he was a strong opponent. Her arms were still tingling from blocking his hits. But as the fight drew on, he's strikes started to weaken. Angel was right. He had to build up his stamina.

Angel stood above them. "You guys did okay today," she smiled, glancing down at them. "Go to your rooms and take a bath before you catch a cold. We'll continue training later tonight." She strode away from them. "Oh, and don't worry about your missed classes. Both of you have already been excused," she said disappearing with a wave.

Kana sat under the sakura tree, while Natsume was lounging on a branch above her. Both of them were taking a break from the grueling training Angel's subjecting them to. Since Angel knows they had previously been trained, she's concentrating on enhancing what they've learned beforehand.

Propped up against the tree, Kana closed her eyes and listened to the music from her iPod, trying to conserve her energy until the break is over. She felt Natsume stir above her before he jumped down and seated himself beside her. Keeping her eyes close, she unplugged an earphone from one of her ears and offered it to him.

Natsume took the proffered earpiece and placed it in his ear. Music played. He wasn't a bit surprise that she listens to this group. She seems to have a wide range in her taste for music, but the music was good nonetheless. He closed his eyes with her and concentrated on the lyrics.

I love you
I have loved you all along
And I miss you
Been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me
and you'll never go
Stop breathing if
I don't see you anymore

So far away
Been far away for far too long
So far away
Been far away for far too long
But you know, you know, you know

I wanted
I wanted you to stay
'Cause I needed
I need to hear you say
That I love you
I have loved you all along
And I forgive you
For being away for far too long
So keep breathing
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore
Believe it
Hold on to me and, never let me go
Keep breathing
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore
Believe it
Hold on to me and, never let me go
Keep breathing
Hold on to me and, never let me go
Keep breathing
Hold on to me and, never let me go

Natsume glanced at the girl beside him. His Mikan. She'd been away from him for too long. Now, he's never letting her go again.

Kana's eyes shot open when she felt arm snake around her, but she kept herself motionless as if still in sleep. Natsume pulled her towards him, letting her head lean on his shoulder. She felt him lay his head onto of hers, his arm still wrapped about her waist. It took her a moment for her to get over her shock before relaxing and closing her eyes again.

They both took a nap in that position, still sharing the earphone that strummed music to an ear each.

After a week of intensive training, Angel presented Natsume and Kana with their final challenge to test if they're ready for the mission. She presented them with Demon! They were supposed to have a bout against him. Natsume's eyes narrowed. But he pretty much shrugged it off and turned to observe his partner. Kana stood stiff and motionless, still not over her shock.

Mikan paled behind her mask. Her onee-chan must have hit her head one too many times. They can't go against Demon-nii! Even if she and Natsume worked together, Demon will pulverize them.

"Hey," Natsume called her attention. "You too scared to fight?" he scoffed. "If that's the case then I'll fight him by myself." He turned, only for Kana to lay a hand on his shoulder.

Kana stood next to him. "You know that we can't beat him," she stated calmly. "But if you desperately want to get your ass whipped, then it seems that I'll have to jump into the fray with you," she sighed heavily. Natsume smirked, and they both charged at Demon in unison.

Less than thirty minutes passed, and the two of them were collapsed on the ground. Both of them exhausted and covered with cuts and bruises. Demon sat under a tree, yawning as if nothing happened.

Kana groaned. "Not fair," she whined. "Nii-chan didn't hold back." Natsume lay silent next to her still trying to catch his breath. He couldn't even move if he tried.

"Actually, Demon did hold back," Angel chuckled, walking near them. "He didn't use his alice, now did he? You're just used to him on the defensive when you spar with him," she told Kana. Kana moaned and curled to her side. "But I think the two of you are ready. You've lasted almost half an hour with him." She sat down in front of them, and asked them to sit up. "Remember the last mission you did with Nobara?" she directed the question to Kana. Kana nodded in affirmation. "Well, the academy's very sure that it contains some vital AAO's plan. But the flash drive you retrieved that night is encrypted. We need the encryption program to read the files inside. The software's in another storage device similar to the first one."

"So, we'll just have to get that flash drive," Natsume voiced. "But why do you need two of us?"

Angel sighed. "Because Kana's already brought back the files, they're doing everything they can to keep the encryption program out of our hands." She scratched her head. "They've tripled the guards from the last time and hired some of mercenaries to go along with it."

"Do I know any of those mercenaries?" Kana asked. Since she was initiated into the family, she'd also been introduced into the underworld filled with gangs and mercenaries. With her family's backing and her own prowess, she'd risen through the ranks in the underworld. She actually liked the underworld's organize system of "it's nothing personal, it's just business". This means that even though your friends, you're obliged to clash with each other if you've been hired by different employees, unless one of you backs down first. And it's usually the weaker one that gives way.

"Unfortunately, yeah," Angel replied with a grimace. "You'll probably recognize some familiar faces."

Kana grumble a bit and stood up. "Well, you know the saying," she smirked. "It's nothing personal…"

"It's just business," Angel continued with a grin.

CHAPTER END

A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. And thank you for the flood of reviews again (though it's making me stay up all night just to catch up to your demands), I'm really happy with it. And the song in here is the ending part of "Far Away" by Nickleback.

Oh, and before I forget, my YM and friendster accounts are up. You can get them at my profile. Add me as your friend if you like. I'll approve them once I can spare the time to visit the accounts.

Read and review. Explicitly NO FLAMES. CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and suggestions are, of course, allowed.