Hey! ^^ I have a new chapter. So I have officially started summer bridge/school for new 9th graders. T^T

Urg sorry for this late update. SO VERY SORRY.

So sorry. Ugh my life is a mess right now. I'm trying to get a new computer for myself since the laptop I use is for everyone. And my brother used it so much -_- I finally got a chance to update. I wrote so much this chapter. Just kidding I don't know if I did.

Anyways onto the story. ^^

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or it's characters.

o•o

Chapter 6: Safe... or Not?

The claws of the creature were ready to rip Mikan's soul out. It completely changed from a human to a hideous creature that no longer had legs. It was a deformed snake-like monster, and when it opened it's mouth, it had sharp teeth.

The monster was not completely snake-like and its claws on its hands were able to cut through many trees. The moon shined upon the creature as it made it's way closer to Mikan. She was not able to move from her spot, even if she was no longer under its hypnosis.

She wanted to run home, into Misaki's arms. She wanted scream for help, even if it was no use. Hoping that someone, anyone, could hear her. Mikan felt hopeless. As the monster slowly slithered toward her, it's mouth opened wider each minute, ready to devour her soul and body, with no trace of her being left behind.

As Mikan was waiting for the monster to kill her, her small hope fading to nothing. She closed her eyes and stood there. The monster was already extremely close to her. She waited for a slash, an extreme pain. But nothing came.

A grunt came from the darkness as if something that had been fighting was thrown. Mikan immediately opened her eyes to see that the monster was held back by a tall man with raven hair. She heard someone getting up and saw another raven haired man standing up after being thrown at a tree.

The two men had saved her from the monster. They had saved her life. She could still not move until one of the guys got thrown to the tree again. She ran towards him, finally able to gain back her senses. The man slowly sat up and turned his head when he heard the footsteps. Mikan got a close look at the man and noticed that he had a star under one of his eyes and purple eyes. Mikan looked at him and back at the monster, who the other raven-head was still fighting.

"A-are you alright?" Mikan asked in a small voice. He smiled at her and stood up. He turned his body towards the direction of the monster and started walking.

Suddenly he stopped and turned his head to her. "I'm fine. Just you wait here and we'll take care of this thing." He gave her a thumbs up and once again resumed his fighting. Many blows were thrown at the monster and exchanged back to the men. It was awfully bloody and bruises were everywhere.

It wasn't until it was almost dawn/twilight did the monster fall. The two men were badly bruised and hurt, as well as worn out.

Mikan saw the monster fall down as it slowly died. She looked at it for a few minutes, waiting to see if it were truly dead or if it was just pretending. When she confirmed it was dead she slowly walked towards the men.

The one with purple eyes saw her coming first and gave her a smile. The other noticed and turned to her as well. When he did, Mikan was able to see the features of his face and was mesmerized by his crimson eyes.

She wouldn't say it out loud but the crimson eyed one was incredibly handsome. His raven hair wasn't combed and was messy, yet it looked good on him. His cold expression gave a mysterious aura, but it felt safe. She couldn't explain it.

She snapped out of it, knowing she would look weird and continued towards them. Her legs stopped walking once she was in front of them, and she once again asked them if they were alright. The purple eyed man smiled at her and have her a thumbs up. "I'm fine! You don't need to worry about me." The crimson eyed one just looked away.

Mikan got a closer look at the crimson-eyed lad and soon realized who the man was. "You!" She exclaimed while pointing the man. "You were the man at the market!" The man turned to her and looked at her with a bored look.

"Hn."

Mikan was still mad at his rudeness, but she knew that she needed to help them. She shook it off and looked back at them.

"I want to thank you for saving me from that thing." She grabbed the purple-eyed mans arm and looked him in the eye. "Let me treat your wounds. You both are hurt and I'm good at treating wounds." There was silence between the three until one of them spoke up.

"We'll take you up on that offer. Thanks! I'm Tsubasa by the way. Tsubasa this grumpy guy right here is Natsume. He is my little brother." He smiled and offered his hand.

Mikan accepted his hand and introduced herself as well. "I'm Mikan. Mikan Harada. My house isn't far so all we need to do is get out of this forest. Tsubasa looked around and pointed in a direction. "That way leads out of the forest and to a road. It's also the fastest way." He grinned at the brunette. "You know your way around the forest?" She asked a bit of shock in her voice.

Tsubasa laughed a little and nodded. "I wanted to know my way around here, just in case we needed to come through here fast." He looked at Natsume and back to Mikan. "We were just walking through here for my memory, and then we came across you and the monster. We saw the monster first but then I saw you and I rushed to help. Though I'm getting old so Natsume would help better. He is stronger after all."

Mikan's eyes wandered to Natsume after Tsubasa said that. Maybe he wasn't that bad, right?

"Let's go then, before it becomes morning. I know Misaki will kill me when I get home." She made a sour face thinking about the fact that Misaki would do something to punish her when she gets home. It was extremely late after all. Tsubasa laughed and Natsume did nothing but keep and expressionless face. "Alright, let's go before you get into more trouble then you probably already are."

They started walking with Tsubasa leading the way, him knowing his ways around the forest. Mikan was in the back with Natsume close behind her. There was an awkward a silence between them before Mikan decided to break it. "So the two of you live in the town..?" Tsubasa shook his head. "We actually are from the outskirts. There is way more plants and vast land. When you look out a window, you have a great view and sometimes I get lost in my thoughts looking out to the faraway mountains. Natsume won't admit it, but he also likes the view and gets lost in thought when he stares out the window." He looked back at them and grinned.

Natsume grunted at his statement and Mikan giggled softly. "I live in the outskirts as well, but I don't have that great of a view. I wish I could see what you see at your home." Mikan looked up to the sky that was vaguely covered up by trees. She smiled at her imagination of what the view was like.

There was a few more minutes of silence and walking until Tsubasa spoke up. "You can come over anytime to look at the view. We'll show you the way to our house from your house, and you can come over whenever." Mikan looked at him with wide eyes. Could she really go to their house. They didn't seem dangerous and they did save her. Plus she felt like she could trust then. She smiled widely at him. "Thanks! I'll take up the offer."

There was a comfortable silence until Natsume, who was silent the whole walk, suddenly grunted painfully. Tsubasa and Mikan looked back and when they did, their eyes widened in shock and fear. Natsume was on one knee with one hand on his stomach and one holding him up so he would fall face first. Mikan ran to him and knelt down to him. "Are you alright!? What happened!" Her eyes wandered to his arm that was still hugging his stomach tightly. She looked back up at him and forcefully ripped his arm off his stomach. She lifted his slightly ripped shirt up and to her horror, a deep wound was on his stomach. She looked at Natsume and turned back to Tsubasa. "We need to hurry. He needs treatment now and all the supplies are at my house." Tsubasa was still in shock but he nodded and went to help Natsume up. Mikan took on shoulder and Tsubasa took the other. They started walking as fast as they could towards the direction Tsubasa was saying.

oOxOo

Natsume was loosing a lot of blood quickly, and every step Mikan and Tsubasa took quickened. Faster and faster. Until they finally reached the road. It was empty with no human in sight. Mikan tried to look at her surroundings to find anything she could remember about her way back home. She quickly scanned the area and finally her eyes landed on a house in the distance. Mikan knew that house anywhere and she immediately started running towards it out of instinct. Tsubasa followed not thinking about anything but the boy who was now losing conscious.

She carefully went up the stairs after handing Natsume to Tsubasa and rang the doorbell twice. When no one answered she got impatient and knocked as hard as she could on the door. Finally, a woman a bit older than Mikan with beautiful, long, raven hair. The annoyed look on her face quickly left when her eyes saw Mikan.

"Mikan! What brings you here at this time?" Her eyes were confused and looked at her worriedly. "Mrs. Imai, well we need to use your first aid." At this Mrs. Imai raised and eyebrow. "We?" She questioned her and when Mikan turned her head back she followed. Her eyes widened at the sight and quickly looked back at Mikan for answers. She noticed this and quickly answered her questions. "It's a long story, but right now he seriously needs some treatment. I promise they aren't bad people."

Mrs. Imai calmed down a bit and let them in. She knew it was a bad idea to let strangers in, but it seemed Mikan trusted them so she let it go for now.

Once inside, Mikan immediately headed towards their bathroom where the necessary materials were. Tsubasa and Mrs. Imai helped Natsume to the living room and set him on the couch face up. They tried to stop the bleeding anyway they could so he wouldn't lose anymore than he already had. Mikan came rushing in with all kinds of medicine and bandages. She sat next to Natsume and started attending to him. The crimson eyed boy was unconscious and lost a lot of blood but was still hanging on.

Mikan washed the blood off of Natsume carefully. The blood stopped flowing out and Mikan took this chance to wash the blood and put bandages on him. She bandaged the bruises on his arms and legs carefully, then moved on to his stomach. He had a severe and sensitive wound that could start bleeding again if not cautious. She studied the wound a bit and got a cloth from beside her. She then applied some chemical and alcohol on it. She knew it would sting a bit but it was the only way to heal the wound. She cautiously tapped at the wound with the cloth and the once unconscious Natsume jolted up from the sting.

"Sorry..." Mikan mumbled from under her breath. "You were asleep so I couldn't tell you it would sting." Natsume felt a pain on his stomach and was about to grab it if it wasn't for Mikan's hand. "You shouldn't touch it. It's badly wounded and I haven't bandaged it." He looked down to find a deep cut on his stomach and then looked back at Mikan. For a minute Mikan was lost in his eyes, but pulled herself together and looked back at the wound. "Please... Sit still a little. This will sting a bit but it'll help you. I promise." She didn't look at him at all but she could feel him nod at her. She slowly tapped the cut with the cloth and could feel him flinch a little. She continued slowly and washed off the stray blood. She disinfected the wounds and finally bandaged the biggest wound.

Natsume tried to stand but was stopped. "You should rest for now. It's best for you right now." Mikan said from beside him. Natsume looked her in the eye as if searching her eyes to see that he could trust her words. He nodded after a while and then looked around. "Where's Baldie?" Mikan blinked twice. She then turned her head to him once again with confusion written all over her face. "Baldie?"

Natsume stared at a painting with a blank expression. "Tsubasa. Baldie is Tsubasa." Mikan tried her best to hold back a giggle and smiled at him. "He's in the other room. His injuries weren't as bad as yours so he only needed a few small bandages. Should I go tell him you're awake?" Natsume shook his head slightly. "You should lie down now and get some rest. Tomorrow you'll be able to go home." With that Mikan stood up and walked out the door. She closed it lightly and sighed softly.

"Explain yourself." A voice behind her called out to Mikan and she whirled around. She came face to face with Hotaru and right then she knew. She was in deep trouble with Hotaru Imai. Mikan gulped and took a feel breath before she faced her best friend.

oOxOo

Mikan's P.O.V

We were currently in the living room. Hotaru was currently sitting on a couch across from me. Tsubasa was currently resting in another room and I had told Natsume to rest. I was all alone with my best friend, who was glaring daggers at me at the moment. I knew I had to explain what was going on, but couldn't she go easy on me? Just a little?

I sighed a little and took a deep breath. I looked Hotaru in the eye and told her everything that had happened.

The market incident, the woods, the monster, and how they saved me. I told her of how I had thought they had slight injuries until Natsume collapsed halfway here. The whole time I was talking, she was sitting there quietly, not making a face. I was nervous of what she would say and whether she would be mad at me. We sat there for a few minutes, Hotaru's face was blank. She sighed and looked at me.

Hotaru gave me one of her rare small smiles and I smiled back at her. "Idiot. How can you trust strangers. Even if they did save you." Her face went expressionless again but her eyes still showed care. "I just felt I needed to help them. And besides I felt like they weren't entirely bad people. Geez Hotaru, trust me on this one." I smiled at her. I knew she was worried but it was true. It felt like I could trust them, even though I barely knew anything about them.

Hotaru stared at me for a second and stood up. "Whatever idiot. If anything happens, don't come crying to me." I couldn't contain my happiness and jumped on her, but next thing I knew I hit the wall hard.

"Don't jump on me."

oOxOo

Normal P.O.V

Soon, Mikan fell asleep on the couch after checking up on Natsume and Tsubasa. Hotaru's mother went to go get Misaki a little after Mikan fell asleep. She knew that Mikan didn't go home that night and that Misaki was both extremely worried and mad. When got to their house, she knocked three times and waited for an answer.

A pink haired woman answered the door. She had a bad appearance, with black circles under her eyes of her tiredness. The frown on her face didn't help her appearance either. She could tell that the cause of this was indeed Mikan.

"Yes Miyaki-san?"

Her voice was hoarse and shaky. Her hair was a mess and her face was pale. She tried to give her a bright smile but failed. Miyaki smiled softly at the woman in front of her. "I came here to get you, Misaki-chan. You must be worried about Mikan, aren't you?" Misaki's eyes widened and she slightly nodded her head.

"How did you know?" Misaki asked, clearly confused. She knew that she didn't tell anyone yet about Mikan not coming home last night. "A certain girl came to our doorstep late last night, asking to use our first aid. She seemed to be a bit scared as well. And she came with two strangers as well. Both of them were injured." She said while remembering how Mikan was the night before, and the two men with her who both had bruises. She remembered how Mikan, who was still shaken up, was insistent on treating their wounds.

Misaki sighed in relief that Mikan was alright, but soon her aura turned to anger. "That little... Didn't bother coming home." She shifted her open hand to a fist and shook it to no one in particular. Miyaki softly laughed at the woman's little change of mood and grabbed her hand. "Let's go. I'm sure you want to see her. After all you still need to give her a punishment right?"

They laughed together for a minute and Misaki then nodded.

"Let's go! I'm sure she just can't wait to see me." Misaki emphasized her words and was smirking evilly, thinking of Mikan's punishment and how she would tease her a little bit.

Done! ^w^ aha I'm really sorry this took forever. By the way... does anyone by chance know a place where I can get a good english translated son for Legend of The Mermaid from Mermaid Melody? And some lines for all characters? I'm sorry to trouble you all but I'm going to audition for a fandub fr Mermaid Melody _ So please leave a comment or PM me.

Thanks for your support as well! ;-; I hope you like my crappy fanfic. And also, take care. ^u^