I literally have no excuse why this is so late. I promised at least 10 chapters and I mean to reach at least 10 chapters.

Natsume POV

His dreams always started the same way: on the highest plateau surrounded by a ring of snow-covered mountains, an imposing vermilion castle presided over a town filled with wooden houses; carefully laid out dirt streets formed an intricate pattern of roadwork when seen from his aerial view; and the hustle and bustle of city life with villagers in simple kimonos, horse-drawn rickshaws, open market food stalls, and a wall of lush green trees surrounding the city closest to the castle.

Natsume always knew he was dreaming because it always started with him standing high above the clouds gazing down at this fantastical landscape with not one iota on how his brain could have conjured such an image. The dream then shifted, as it always did, until he was on the castle grounds. He saw himself there, dressed in armor with a dark red cape falling back to his knees and a sword of great craftsmanship encased in an equally great scabbard strapped to his side.

Natsume was walking through a stone hallway with a deeply pensive expression on his face. He walked with purpose and great stature as if he was marching off for battle. His march was faltered by the sight of a lanky boy in a ridiculous hat tripping over his own feet and falling face first dropping all of Natsume's freshly laundered clothes in the process.

"Yukihara, you idiot!" Natsume groaned. "We need to fix this horrid habit of yours. What if you trip and impale yourself on my sword one of these days?" He flustered. He paused to think about it as Yukihara groaned and sat on his knees. "On second thought, if you went and off-ed yourself with those gnarly legs of yours then perhaps Father will finally assign me a more competent manservant." Natsume snarked. Yukihara didn't look remotely amused.

"I'm sorry, Natsume." The servant replied sullenly, his voice too high for a boy his age. The knight wavered at the sight of Yukihara, sitting on his knees with his nose and cheeks red and his eyes slightly watery. The boy rubbed his nose with a mildly exasperated expression and Natsume was fascinated by the skinny little wrist and tiny hand that accompanied it. His manservant looked so terribly...endearing.

"Ahem, well, you'll be washing those again of course." He coughed, trying to cover an obviously growing blush across his face.

"What? These are perfectly fine! You just need to dust them off a little!" Yukihara suddenly screamed, his voice rising several octaves. Natsume smirked smugly.

"Have fun in the washroom Yukihara, I expect you to have these done by tonight!" Natsume called out as he made his way down the opposite hallway with a refreshing smile on his face. Yukihara's cries of "You stupid fox!" only served to make the knight's grin stretch some more.

That's where the dream ended. Natsume unwillingly opened his eyes and found himself staring at the same old white ceiling of his bedroom. No stone castle here. With great reluctance, he dragged his body into the bathroom to begin his morning routine.

It wasn't always the same dream. Sometimes he and Yukihara were hunting for game, fighting off bandits, fighting each other, or in a tavern drinking sake with other knights. Last night's was much more tolerable than last week's when Natsume had, within the dream, imagined himself pushing Yukihara up against a wall and kissing the boy senseless. Natsume's fist curled around his toothbrush murderously. He was not gay.

Several of his friends appeared too. Ruka was almost always present, which is a given considering he's his closest friend at the moment. Kokoro Yome, Kitsu, Tobita Yuu, Mochiage, and Hayate were much more of a surprise. He hung out with those fellows frequently, since they were in the same homeroom and were in the kendo club together, but he wasn't close to them per say. Speaking of those fellows, it was 6:05 and kendo practice began at 7. He had to hurry if he wanted to make practice.

Fifteen minutes later, Natsume took the stairs down two at a time, dressed in his freshly pressed Gakuen Alice uniform, his hair tousled immaculately, and fidgeting with his damn tie the entire way down. His breakfast was waiting for him on the table and he spotted his dad skittering around the kitchen piling food into a small pink bento box for Aoi who was still fast asleep at this time. He wondered what kind of fuss she would make about going to school today.

His weird dreams, his father's prolonged absences, Aoi's meekness, and the silent mechanical routine of playing family in the Hyuuga household all began around the same time— two years ago when Natsume rejected Mikan's confession and the world was thrown into turmoil with the emergence of demons.

Although Japan was no longer under martial law, they were still isolated from the rest of the world. In the past two years, there were only a handful of demon sightings, mostly in Tokyo, that were dealt with quickly and quietly. And when the military announced they discovered a stable method for taking care of the demons, his friends and neighbors grew considerably less paranoid. Business and schools reopened. But it didn't mean life was back to normal yet.

People used to practice kendo for the thrill of learning the ancient martial arts. Now it was a "necessity" for survival because some idiot posted a video claiming he saw a group of vigilantes fighting demons with swords. His only proof was an image so pixelated it might as well have been a screenshot from Minecraft. Unfortunately, the video went viral and Natsume, as the Kendo Club captain, was left sloughing out hero wannabes at tryouts.

"Ohayo Natsume. You're up early today." Ioran greeted pleasantly, sitting across from Natsume at the breakfast table.

"Kendo club," Natsume mumbled between bites of onigiri and tamagoyaki.

"Even on the first day of school?" Ioran Hyuuga asked, perplexed. Natsume dropped the rice ball and hung his head.

"Damn, I forgot." He groaned. They had the welcoming assembly today which meant no practice. He got up early for nothing.

Ioran laughed heartily. "Where's your head at Natsume? Oh, before I forget, will you pick up Aoi from school today? I'll be working late again." Ioran asked, absent-mindedly searching for something. Natsume "hn-ed" in response and passed over the shoyu before his dad asked. Mornings like this were rare in the Hyuuga household. Especially after Prime Minister Kazumi Yukihara credited his dad for discovering this "stable method for taking care of the demons."

Ioran was extremely tight-lipped about his work in the military, so Natsume was as clueless as the rest about this so-called discovery. Only that for the second time in less than 5 years, his family was in the media spotlight again. It was a good thing he had connections in Gakuen Alice; it made weathering the media storm much easier.

Now that he had an extra hour, Natsume took his time walking to the train station. He briefly glanced at the bike collecting dust in their yard. Nope. Too many memories of riding tandem with a pig-tailed brat in middle school. The subway it is.

At school, he skipped the welcoming ceremony, opting to catch a few z's before their new homeroom teacher and his friends since freshman year invaded the classroom. At 9:30 precisely, his siesta was disturbed by screechy chatter and thundering footfalls.

"NATSUME-SAMA!" And so begins the morning screaming ritual of his so-called fangirls. The pristine and well-reputed Gakuen Alice had one blemish: the members of the Natsume-Ruka fan club established by crazy fangirls. Natsume groaned in disgust and resisted the urge to bang his head. But Natsume Hyuuga didn't show weaknesses like that. Instead, he glared at any stupid girl that dared to come within five feet of him.

"Hey! Enough ogling! My boyfriend's not an art exhibit." A more tolerable screechy voice broke the crowd. Sumire Shouda walked through the parted masses, flung her arm around Natsume's neck and placed a sloppy wet kiss on his cheek. "Morning Natsume." Shouda crooned saccharinely.

"Shouda, you're too close." Natsume sighed for the umpteenth time. "Don't get carried away because I agreed to go out with you." Yeah that's right, he, Natsume Hyuuga, was dating Sumire Shouda. They started dating at the end of their second year after she pursued him relentlessly for two years. Normally Natsume wouldn't bother with a fangirl like Shouda but she was the perfect shield against vultures —ahem— fangirls and a solution for his little I'm-not-gay crisis. It's not like Shouda wanted him for anything more than his face either so it worked out.

"Demoooo, we didn't meet at all this summer." She whined, making Natsume cringe mentally. "You never even answer my calls." Shouda looked like she had a whole speech prepared, never had he been so happy for his friends to show up exactly when he needed them too.

"Hey Nat! How was your summer?" Kokoro Yome grinned widely, sliding into his usual seat in front of Natsume. His eyes briefly flickered over to Shouda. If Koko was surprised, he didn't show it.

"Busy." Natsume grunted in reply and pushed Sumire out of his lap. The girl pouted but her eyes lit up when her banshee-in-crime Wakako Usumi walked in. She flocked to her side like a mindless minion. Natsume wondered if he should have picked someone other than Shouda. But her mom was a well-respected lawyer and her father the Police Chief— it helped to have that kind of connection. "I've been practicing," He added as an afterthought.

"Kendo?" Koko confirmed. "Yeah, Kitsu and I have been honing our skills too. Think we got a shot at the Olympics this year?"

Natsume smirked. "We're better than Japan's Olympic Kendo team." Koko chuckled in response. Ruka chose that moment to drop his bag into the seat beside Natsume; Ruka greeted him formally as always, that little bocchan. Hayate sat next to the left of Koko, and Mochiage and Yuu both sat two rows in front. Fortunately for Natsume, the closest girl in the vicinity was Imai Hotaru who happened to be the manager of the kendo club. The banshees and the fangirls were on the other end of the classroom. The two transfer students, Anna Ogasawara and Nonoko Ogasawara (twins), were somewhere in the middle near Imai and Otonashi Yura. At the very back of the classroom to the right of Ruka was an empty desk.

Their homeroom sensei finally showed up as well. He was a tall fellow with girly blonde hair, a girly face, girly small hands, and he walked in like a girl. Thankfully his button-down shirt and tie uniform made him bearable to look at.

"Ohayo minna-san! I am Narumi Anjou. You may call me Narumi-sensei or just Narumi. I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next year. Congratulations on making it to your final year of high school. I know our curriculum is especially rigorous so I'm proud of all of you for making it this far. We are just a few months away from the university entrance exam —now, now, there's no need to all groan— so if you have been breezing through all your classes so far, don't expect this year to be the same. For those of you who are struggling, I strongly suggest seeking help from your senseis. We're all here to help.

"Now before we get into our syllabus, I have some exciting news. We have a new student with us today!" Narumi abruptly deviated. His classmates all sat a little straighter in anticipation. Natsume even cracked open an eye. There were whispers like, "I hope it's a hot chick," from the guys and from the banshees, "I hope it's another ikemen! We can add him in the Natsume-Ruka fan club," he cringed when he heard that. "Well technically this student has been with us before, but let's all give her a warm welcome back!"

Natsume paused. There's no way. But the timing fit. Two years...

"Mikan-chan! You may come in now!" Narumi fluttered about. Natsume swallowed thickly. The door slowly slid open and she walked in. And Natsume swore that some kami-yaro with a wicked sense of humor just turned the saturation on high because it was like he was seeing color for the first time.

The warmth of her skin, lively burgundy brown eyes, even her lips were the color of her favorite howalon candy. He noticed other things too. Like how her hair no longer hung in her signature pigtails. It was all tied up in a single pony, with the long mane reaching her mid-back. She looked older too. There was a sharpness to her cheek lines and a slenderness by her neck. His eyes couldn't help but drift down and admire what were previously undeveloped flatlands.

Mikan was saying something. There were definitely words coming out of her mouth. But Natsume couldn't hear it. White noise filled his ear, broken up by systematic thudding — no, ticking? Somewhere in his mind, a colossal bronze clock towering over him, frozen in time, ticking for the first time again.

"Arigatou, Mikan-chan, we are all excited to have you back with us. Why don't you sit in the back for now, besides Ruka-kun?" Narumi suggested. Mikan chirped agreeably and moved to sit next to Ruka. Natsume could feel Ruka's eyes burning holes into the side of his face.

"Ohayo Ruka-pyon!" Mikan greeted pleasantly.

"Pyon?" Ruka choked in surprise. Her eyes glazed over him and turned to Natsume.

"Natsume," Mikan acknowledged and, damn him, if he didn't miss the way she used his name like a greeting and endearment all at once. She didn't say anything else, didn't expect him to return the greeting either.

He fought the temptation to glance in her direction as the class progressed. Natsume was dying to see her, see how she changed, see how much of Mikan remained the same— see how much she had forgiven him or not.

First period, second period, and third all went by as if nothing had changed. It wasn't until lunch period that Natsume allowed himself a quick glance. Mikan was amiably packing her things. Something about her nonchalance stung. Since their last meeting two years ago, a mild rage simmered within him. Now, all at once, it resurfaced.

"Hey Nat, I think we should apologize to Sakura." Kokoro Yome said, leaning back in his chair, balancing a pencil between his upper lip and nose.

"I think so as well. We were all rude to Sakura-san." Yuu added, dropping his lunch next to Natsume and picking up a chair. Ruka sent him another prompting look. Natsume could practically hear his friend's voice in his head saying "She's your best friend, Natsume." He didn't really need these guys to remind him. Natsume was dying to talk to her but the girl was currently...preoccupied.

Hayate stood beside Mikan, arms crossed over his chest, staring down intensely, he looked like the big bad wolf staring down one of the little piggies. "Oi Sakura, come with me for a second." He demanded gruffly, as if he could sense Natsume watching him.

"Eh? Why should I?" Mikan blinked cluelessly. He couldn't see Hayate's expression but judging by the way he was on pins and needles, Natsume could tell the wolf-like boy was extremely uncomfortable.

"Just come for a second!" He growled, and with no warning, grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her out of the classroom. Make that the wolf that ate the grandma and little red riding hood.

"Eeeeh?" The polka-dotted panty girl's cries trailed after her. Ruka, Natsume, Koko, and Yuu all stared after them in surprise.

"What was that about?"

"Saa...Hayate-san has been fidgeting since Mikan-chan walked in this morning." Yuu frowned. Natsume contemplated going after them but it was unnecessary as they both walked back in five minutes later with identical sour looks on their faces. Hayate seemed to be the worse of the two, he slammed his lunch down at their usual spot and began eating with a warlike expression on his face.

"Everything good, bro?"

"Yeah," The silver-eyed boy replied stiffly. "Just sorting out a misunderstanding."

Mikan snorted. "Is that what we're calling that?" Natsume nearly choked. How good was her hearing?

"Who asked you?!" Hayate snapped. "How'd you even hear us? Are you an eagle or something?" Ruka, Yuu, and Koko continued to eat like they hadn't heard anything.

"Eagles have sharp eyes, not ears, Hayate-kun." Mikan deadpanned, more appalled than offended. Hayate fumed and continued to chew on his sandwich.

"Haha, she got you, Hayate." Koko chuckled.

"Shut up." The wolf-boy replied sullenly. Natsume didn't have a chance to approach Mikan again. She was surrounded by those two weird transfer students. Though he wanted to grill Hayate about his little vis-a-vis with Mikan, his pride held him back. Natsume Hyuuga did not fixate. He also doesn't grill his friends like a girl. He's not gay damn it!

"Is there something going between you and Sakura-san?" Fortunately, Ruka was there to ask for him.

"Nothing."

"Bro, you've been acting up since that girl showed up. Yuu saw it. What's the deal?" Mochu growled. Mochiage was a confrontational idiot. He didn't do well with crypticism. Natsume only hung around him because he was useful for fending off the fangirls. It wasn't hard to tell when Mochu was getting worked up. It was always the same routine. His eyes would turn all slant and his brows would form a tight V. That was also around the time that Class Rep would get involved.

"Maa, maa, I'm sure if Hayate-san says it's nothing, it's probably nothing." Class Rep placated the two idiots. If Natsume hadn't seen Yuu's extraordinarily refined skills with a katana, he probably would have written the fellow off as a spineless idiot and ignored him. He was glad he didn't though. Class Rep was an expert diffuser. Every group needed one. "More importantly, I think we should all apologize to Mikan-chan now." Okay, now he regretted it.

"What for?" Natsume grunted, trying not to appear as agitated as he was. Class Rep made a face at him as if he was saying "Isn't it obvious?" Ruka answered for him.

"Natsume, we humiliated Sakura. We can't even say it was unintentional. It's common sense not to read other people's letters." Natsume wanted to protest, but Ruka wasn't done yet. "Maybe you've all forgotten, but we made that girl cry. I don't want to live with that guilt." Surprisingly, even Hayate and Mochiage had the decency to lower their heads.

"Nat, Ruka's right. We should apologize. I miss messing around with Sakura. She was so cool about pranking Jin-jin with Kitsu and me." Koko added his two cents. Kitasuname, who shouldn't even be here since they weren't in the same class but always showed up during their lunch periods, nodded in agreement. His friends all stared at him expectantly. Did they want his permission or something?

Natsume closed his eyes.

He couldn't forget that day at Sakura Jii-san's funeral even if he wanted to. He thought he knew Mikan almost as well as he knew himself. He thought he'd seen all her ups and downs. Nothing could've prepared Natsume for the Mikan he saw at Jii-san's funeral. Defenseless, shriveled up, gray without life in her eyes, he didn't like it. Hell, he hated it. The Mikan he grew up with was full of life and laughter. She was an open-book idiot who wore her emotions on her sleeve. He could read her better than he could read complex kanji. Mikan was everything he was not, which was why they got along so nicely.

He went to the funeral determined to patch up their friendship. It was stupid to end their friendship over misguided feelings. He was prepared for the waterworks, the temper tantrum, even the silent treatment. He never expected the icy dispassion or the silver-tongued words that would drive them apart.

"Just tell me one thing." The indifference in her voice, the glacial look in her eyes. "Did you mean it?" Each word was a sucker punch straight to his gut. Every part of her screamed "You're not worth my time. Die in a hole you insignificant little insect." The rage that followed was unbelievable. It took every ounce of self-restraint not to tackle her and knock some sense into her puny little head like he did when they were kids.

One word, one little conversation was enough to cut off ten years of friendship? Bullshit. If she didn't give a damn about their lifelong camaraderie, if she could give it up like a used tissue, then why couldn't he?

"How long?"

"Two years."

"Okay,"

"Okay."

She didn't just give him the silent treatment, Mikan dropped out of school and cut him, Aoi, and his father completely out of her life. He had every right to be pissed. Who the hell was she to play around with his feel...emo...whatever. If Mikan wanted to punish him, then she succeeded. Aoi was a friendless loner at school. His dad stopped reading by the fireplace. He worked all the time and never took any holidays off. It was just like when his Mom had...had...

"Do whatever you want." Natsume finally answered. He sensed disappointment from both Ruka and Yuu but purposefully ignored it. Koko, Yuu, Ruka, and Kitsu made their way to Mikan and the transfer students while Mochu, Hayate, and Natsume stayed behind to brood in silence.

I used more Japanese words than normal in this chapter. Let me know if I missed any.

Japanese Words

Onigiri- Rice Ball

Tamagoyaki- Rolled Japanese Omelette made in a special rectangular omelet pan.

Shoyu- Soy Sauce

Bocchan- Young little master, but can be used sarcastically to imply spoiled little rich kid

Ohayo Minna-san- Translates to Good Morning Everyone

Ikemen- Beautiful or Hot men

Kami-yaro - literally translates to some God-fellow, with yaro being impolite