Disclaimer: I don't and can't own Gakuen Alice even if I wanted too. It belongs to Tachibana-sensei.

~Eternity~

"I've left him but…"

"But?"

"Why do I think that I left my entire heart and soul as well? It… it just hurts so much."

"I'm proud of you, Mikan. You did what you thought was best for you and your family."

"But what if leaving him wasn't the best way? Everyone deserves a second chance right?"

"Mikan. Let's say you forgive Hyuuga, do you think the trust you had for him back then would be the same? Would your relationship really be the same?"

"I… I…"

"It wouldn't be. You may think that you'd forget everything but the heart remembers, Mikan. The pain and suffering you endured, all of it. At the back of your head, you'll always have a constant fear of what ifs. What if he cheats again? What if he's out with another woman? It'll never stop."

"…"

"Granted, that there are some exceptions but are you really ready to forgive him? I know you, Mikan. I don't think you can move on from Hyuuga and that's also the reason why I'm so proud of you right now. Even though you think you can't love another person like you did with him, you still left him. That shows how much he had hurt you."

Hotaru sighed as she took Mikan in her arms.

"It takes time, Mikan, but I'm sure you'd be back on your feet again. We'll be with you in every step of the way."

"Are you drinking your ass off again, Hyuuga?"

"Fancy meeting you here, boss. You're usually not here unless you and your wife had a dispute."

"Come on, stop wallowing in self-pity, Natsume. You brought this on yourself."

"Keh. I can do whatever I want. Nothing really matters anymore, anyways."

"You're an idiot. What happened to getting her forgiveness even if it takes forever? No wonder Mikan left you... You can't keep your promises."

"Fuck off."

"No, you get your shit straight. I'm still your friend, Natsume. It doesn't mean that when Mikan cut off ties with you, you cut everyone off."

"…"

"Why are you even wasting your time here? You're supposed to be thinking of ways to get her back."

"Heck, if I were her, I wouldn't even want myself back."

"So that's why you're giving up? Because you realized that what you did was unforgivable? That you don't think you deserve to have a second chance?"

"Fuck yes! What I did to her was something she shouldn't have went through but I still did it! When she left me, that's when everything sink in. I shouldn't have done that. I can't afford to make her suffer again. If her leaving me would stop that then so be it."

"You're pathetic."

"Tell me something I haven't realized already, Ken."

"Yes, you've hurt Mikan but don't you think that you can also mend her heart? Are you really going to let things end like this? I thought that the only thing you wouldn't give up was Mikan?"

"…"

"Fine, at the very least I thought you wouldn't give up so easily, Natsume. I guess that's something that I thought wrong too."

~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~

"Natsume, she already left you. Why can't you understand that? You're all mine to have. You can never go back to her life."

"Shut the fuck up, Koizomi."

"Why are you still thinking about her when you can have me? I'm willing to give everything to you—"

"Do you know how pathetic you sound? Yes, she left me and I understand that what I did isn't something that could be dismissed easily but that doesn't mean I'll get together with you. Get this in your thick skull, I will never love anyone else besides her. Even if she does find happiness on another man, I will only love her so for the love of god, just leave me alone. I will never love you."

"How dare you! I gave everything to you! I know back then you enjoyed everything, I can make you forget—"

"Just stop. What I did back then was a mistake that costed me everything and I won't make the same mistake. Just find someone else to make your toy, I'm done with that shit."

"You'll regret this, Natsume Hyuuga!"

"Trust me, I already regretted a lot of things and meeting you was one of them."

Lunch time is the only time we could spend together since we don't have shared classes. Her being a different major and all, she decides to ditch me for something she didn't explained. Natsuhiko grumbled, glaring at the screen of his phone.

"Don't wait for me at lunch, I have something to do. Thanks. Love you."

He heaved a sigh as he sat down under the oak tree inside the campus. It reminded him of the Sakura tree he loved so much back in Japan. He was about to call his girlfriend when he felt someone approaching him.

"Yukihira, I thought I'd fine you here."

"Hn, what do you want, Blanc?"

"I thought I told you to call me Cecile."

"…"

"You're no fun, can I eat lunch with you—"

"No, he can't eat lunch with you since he's going to eat lunch with his girlfriend." Shizuka said emphasizing the world girlfriend as she grabbed his hand and walked away.

"I thought you had something to do?" Natsuhiko asked with a brow raised, clearly amused at his girlfriend.

"I had but I saw that girl approaching you and I just couldn't help myself." Natsuhiko chuckled.

"You're cute when you're jealous."

"I'm most certainly not jealous!"

"Whatever you say, rabbits. Whatever you say."

"How are you finding the place?"

"Pretty huge, just like Alice academy and sadly it seems that even here my handsome looks aren't spared."

"Who says you're handsome? You look like a monkey."

"Oh? A monkey huh? I'm pretty sure Blanc and a lot of girls think otherwise."

"One more word about Blanc and I'll shove that sandwich to your throat."

Natsuhiko chuckled as he took his last bite on his sandwich. He glanced at his girlfriend who had a frown in her face.

"Shizuka."

"What do you—"

Shizuka's eyes went wide as she felt his lips on hers. Natsuhiko grinned as he continued to kiss his girlfriend senseless. Hey, it wasn't his fault she was cute getting jealous and all that.

~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~

"How's everyone by the way?" Shizuka asked as she lied comfortably on her boyfriend's chest.

"Mom's doing alright. She rarely cries at night now but every now and then I'll see her just staring into nothing. Mimi-nee's busy looking for a part time job and Mina-nee's doing well on her new job."

"That's great news."

"Hn."

"Do you think there's a possibility that he'll look for you guys?"

"I don't care, the moment mom left him, he's nothing to me."

"But what if your mom just needed space? And when he does come back, she'll forgive him? What will you do?"

Natsuhiko heaved a sigh as he stroked his girlfriend's hair.

"To be honest, I don't think mom's really moved on yet. She couldn't even divorce him—"

"Yet you use your mother's surname when you came here." Natsuhiko glared at her before continuing.

"—but if he does come back there's a high chance mom would forgive him… That doesn't mean I'll make it easy for him."

"So… that means you're alright with the idea of them getting back together?"

"Mixed feelings. What he did was really unforgiveable if you ask me but if mom decides to take him back, I got to respect it but it doesn't mean that I forgive him also. He has to earn it first."

"What about your sisters?"

"Hmm? Mimi-nee would probably be fine with it. Mina-nee's kind of stubborn so I'd like to think she'll give him a hard time too."

"Do you want them too though? To get back together I mean."

"Ninety percent, no."

"Ninety percent only?"

"Frankly speaking, mom's better off without him but there's no denying it that mom would probably forgive him in due time. That's my ten percent. He's still my biological dad after all."

The family was having a nice dinner when suddenly Mimi called her mom's attention.

"Mom."

"Yes, Mimi?"

"What if… what if you saw dad? If he comes looking for us?" The question made everyone dead silent.

"Mimi, why are you asking that question?" Minami murmured, glancing at her mom worriedly. Natsuhiko unconsciously clutched his chopsticks a bit tighter and Mikan… her face was unreadable as she looked at her daughter. Mimi felt conscious.

"I'm sorry, mom, you don't have to answer that."

"It's alright, you have the right to ask after all." Mikan replied as she placed down her chopsticks gently.

"Leaving your father was hard for me. Even though he has hurt me that much, it was still a hard thing to do. I've known him half of my life and to suddenly let it go, it's just devastating but I knew I had too. I guess I just needed time for myself, to think things through. If I do see him someday, well, I'd like to think I'd still greet him. Doesn't mean I'd welcome him with open arms of course." Mikan chuckled.

"I may have left him but I still do love your father after all. I don't think my feelings for him will ever go away."

"Basically you're saying that you'd forgive him, even after all that he did?" Natsuhiko asked, staring at her with his crimson eyes that does remind her of him.

"Hmmm… at the moment, I think if he asked me if we could be friends, I'd agree. But just friends, nothing more, nothing less."

"But I thought you said you still love him, so why just friends?" Mimi asked. Mikan chuckled.

"I'm guessing you want us to be together again, don't you, Mimi?" Mimi blushed as she muttered a silent not really.

"Well, I do love him yes, but I don't think I'm ready to take him back."

"Will there be a time that you think you'll be ready?" Minami who was just silently listening suddenly spoke, curiosity laced in her voice.

"I don't really know. Maybe, I'll have an answer by the time it does happen. For now, I can say that I'm content with having dinners like this, spending time with my family. You guys are enough for me. Even if he doesn't come back, my heart is still full knowing that you're here with me, supporting me and that's all a mother could ask for."

"Mom…" Her daughters blurted out in unison, eyes getting teary. Mikan, herself couldn't help but feel waters in her eyes.

"Alright, enough of the sappy talk, our dinner is getting cold." Natsuhiko grumbled as he continued eating.

"Mou! If anything's getting cold here, it's you!" Mimi pouted, as she wiped her eyes and started eating again.

"Whatever."

"Alright, let's just eat dinner without bickering. Sheesh." Minami reprimanded the two of them.

Mikan couldn't help but smile at the scene unfolding in her eyes. Yes, Natsume may be gone from her life, it's not the end. After all, she has these wonderful children that support her.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey guys, it has been awhile! Since new year's, if my memory serves me right. Hehe. Well, here's a short chapter to tie lose ends together… I think? Also, I don't know what occurred to me to change the writing style for this chappie but my brain just worked that way. I kept arguing in my head that I should continue with the same old but… my brain argued back saying no, it wouldn't work for this chapter. So this happened.

Well, I'm good for those who are wondering what happened to me. I just got busy with work for the past months but now I'm currently jobless. Huhu. Please wish me luck as I write this while applying on countless jobs I could see.

I do hope you guys are doing fine this pandemic. I haven't uploaded recently but there's still pandemic. But hey, I wonder what's going to happen first, me finishing the story or the pandemic ending? Hehehe. I seriously don't know the answer to that. XD