Um... Hi?Please don't kill me ;-; BUT I behold, a product of procrastination, school and laziness. School has gotten hard. I'm really sorry but I'll let you know something, I'm a HUGE procrastinator. I say I will work on it but i procrastinated due to homework and anime. Oh has anyone seen Tokyo Ghoul? *^* And Glasslip and Akame ga Kill?

Disclaimer: No, never in a million years will I own Gakuen Alice.

I will love the light for it shows me the way,

yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.
~Og Mandino

Chapter 7: Under the Stars

The house was silent except for a few whispers in a room. Mikan slowly opened her eyes and sat up. The room was empty but she could hear whispers coming from the other room. She got off the couch she slept on and slowly walked over towards the door. What if there were thieves? Mikan felt her heart racing as she slowly turned the knob of the door. She opened the door just enough so she could peak, but not be noticed. As she looked through the little crack her eyes widened at what she saw.

There behind the door, sitting on a couch with bags under her eyes was Misaki. The pink haired woman who she was sure would kill her when she laid eyes on her. Mikan gulped but tried to listen in on what they were talking about. Since they weren't that far and were talking pretty loudly, Mikan was able to hear their conversation.

Misaki was the first she heard. "Are you sure we could trust them or were they just using her?" Her eyes cold while talking, she asked the amethyst eyed woman in front of her. The woman who always had a smile, now had a serious face and answered her. "I believe that if Mikan-chan brought them here, we could try to trust them. Besides you should be-" She was cut off my Misaki who was almost yelling at her. "What if they take her to sell?! What if they kidnapped her and killed her?! We can't just trust some random guys because Mikan brought them! We have to be completely sure about them!"

sighed in frustration. "I know that we should be more cautious but that night Mikan brought one of them in because they were both injured. And one extremely wounded at that! Mikan was just being nice. Maybe they did something for her that saved her and she wanted to help. That's how Mikan is and always will be!" Misaki frowned at the woman in front of her and was about to make a comeback when a voice cut her off.

"Already frowning so early in the morning, huh?" A raven haired man stood there with a goofy smile and a star tattoo under his eye. Misaki twitched at his remark and instantly stood up to face him. "Look here. I haven't done anything to you because I'm not sure what happened. But if I find out that you did anything to Mikan, I swear I'll kill you! I beat the responsibility and she is-"

She was cut off my and Mikan thought it was about time to 'wake-up' from her sleep. As she was about to open the door when another voice entered the room.

"Will you stop screaming so early in the morning? I swear Baldie you're going to make me deaf one day." Natsume entered the room with a frown and an annoyed look on his face. She giggled at the nickname Natsume gave Tsubasa and opened the door. Everyone turned towards the door.

An very angry Misaki, a nervous , and smiling Tsubasa, an emotionless Hotaru, and a very annoyed Natsume. Mikan started getting nervous and squirmed a little. Silence enveloped them as they stood there staring at her with different expressions on their faces. Mikan could not stand the silence any longer and spoke up.

"Er... Good Morning?"

Misaki was twitching the whole time and when Mikan said that, she exploded. "Why didn't you at least come tell me you were alright?! You didn't tell me you brought two guys that were injured either! I was really worried about you and you didn't even come home to bring the things I told you to get?! On top of that you bothered Miyaki in the middle of the night?! I know what we're going to do when we get home!" Misaki took a deep breath after saying that in one breath. Mikan shrunk back with tears in her eyes and shook in fear. Misaki was scary when she was angry and she knew that very well. Tsubasa stepped in and did something that no ordinary human would do when Misaki was angry. He patted her head. "Calm down, she saved Natsume's life! We wouldn't do anything to her. Okay?" He smiled gently and Misaki didn't know why she turned away to hide the blush that crept up her face. "Don't tell me what to do! I can handle my anger." She composed herself and turned back around with a new frown upon her beautiful face. She told herself to smack him later.

Miyuki smiled a bit and cleared her throat. "Well don't you think we should introduce ourselves? Get to know each other." Everyone hesitantly nodded after a few seconds. She clapped her hands once and looked around the room. "Alright! Name and age everyone! Even if we already know." She said eying Misaki. "Hmm and let's see…your favorite color!" The room fell silent for a few minutes until Hotaru spoke up.

"Hotaru Imai. 17 years old. Purple." Her eyes remained stoic as the next person went. "Misaki Harada. 34. Sky blue or Rose pink." She eyed everyone in the room. It's true she was already in her 30's yet she still looked beautiful and young. "Miyuki Imai. 35 years old. Jade green." Her calming aura relaxed the room and made everyone smile - except Natsume and Hotaru, who remained stoic with hard expressions. "Tsubasa Andou. 34 years old. Navy blue or plain blue." A goofy smile on his face while he said that. Like Misaki, he looked way younger than 34, but facts were facts. "Mikan Sakura. 17 years old! And my favorite color would be mandarin orange or a soft pink." Finally the only person left was Natsume and he did not want to do this. Everyone was waiting for him and staring. He sighed heavily. ""Natsume Andou. 17. Black." Plain and simple, the hard aura made everyone go stiff and move on.

Miyuki decided to break the silence and cleared her throat. "So now that we know everyone's names, let's hear the story of what happened. Mikan-chan? Tsubasa-kun? Natsume-kun? Mikan fidgeted with her fingers and thought about the events last night. Tsubasa smiled nervously and Natsume looked away with the same stoic expression. Mikan looked at Tsubasa first and he nodded, telling her that she could tell them. She then hesitantly looked at Natsume who was now looking at her. From the outside she saw that he didn't care whether or not she would say anything but, she felt as if his eyes were signaling her to tell everyone. Mikan couldn't understand it but she ignored it and slightly shook her head. She took a breath and looked everyone in the eye.

"That night I was walking home from shopping as you told me to do, Misaki. I had met Natsume before but that was at the market place. By the time I had gotten everything it was already dark. I felt like something, just something, would happen. And that it wouldn't be good. But I also felt like even though something bad was going to happen, something good would happen too. Though at that time the only thing that would happen would be bad. There were sounds and I started walking faster and faster as the sounds got closer. I was about to run home and suddenly there was a lullaby. I started getting drowsy and couldn't control my legs." The whole room was silent as Mikan continued on. "I started walking into the forest, deeper and deeper, and I was terrified of what was happening. My mind was in a panic telling my legs to stop but they wouldn't listen to me. So they continued moving and I thought to myself that as soon as I could move, I would run. When I came into the clearing and saw that man standing there I was afraid, but relieved to see someone. But soon that faded when he turned into this… this… monster." Mikan started tearing up a bit and Misaki couldn't help but to hug her and comfort her. She had felt guilty for yelling at her when something like that happened. Mikan calmed down and continued to speak.

"I knew I could move again when the monster got close to me, but I couldn't bring myself to run away. I thought that I would seriously die there. That no one would save me. That I would be alone." She looked up to take glances at Tsubasa and Natsume.

'But then Tsubasa and Natsume came right when the monster was about to grab me. I fell to the floor as they fought. It seemed like hours until the fight was finished and I rushed over to them. I didn't - and still don't know how to repay them for saving me. I told them the least I could do was take them to my house so I could mend their injuries. But halfway there, Natsume fell and we saw that he had a huge wound on his stomach. I knew my house was too far away and Natsume's injury was too serious. So I came to the closest house I knew of, which was Miyuki-san's house and treated their wounds. Tsubasa's weren't that serious so I let Miyuki-san handle him. I was the one who mended Natsume's injuries. I got so caught up with this that I had forgotten to tell you I was at Hotaru's. So I'm sorry Misaki, but I had to at least help them for saving me." Mikan stood up and bowed to Misaki, who had a guilty look on her face as she looked at Mikan. She sighed and patted her head slightly. "It's alright. I can understand if that had happened. But." She stood straight as Mikan looked up confused.

"You'll have to do all the chores in the house for 3 weeks to repay for making me worry so much." Misaki teasingly waved a finger at Mikan while Mikan smiled. "Okay!" Everyone in the room smiled along with them and some laughed as well. Mikan was laughing along with them and from the corner of the room, Natsume was quietly watching. He slowly walked out of the room and to the room he slept in, and no one had noticed he left. He laid the on the bed, eyes on the ceiling, and his mind full of thoughts he would never say. 'Why am I still here. I could have gone home and ditched Baldie here.' He sighed slightly and soon, the bustling sounds outside could no longer reach his ears.

oOxOo

A few hours later everyone had fallen asleep after the laughing and talking. The moon was out and a pair of crimson red eyes were outside. Natsume had woken up after everyone had fallen asleep and he stepped out for air. The breeze ran through his hair and it relaxed him. He laid down on the grass and closed his eyes. It was chilly but he felt relaxed there. He was there for a half an hour when there were footsteps coming close to him. He opened his eyes, only to see a pair of big brown eyes staring back at him. The two stood there staring for a few minutes, just looking at each other. Natsume's crimson eyes had always caught Mikan's attention, but now that she got a closer look she saw how handsome he was. The way the shine of the moon reflected on his smooth but messy hair, the way his eyes stared intently at her, searching for something. Even if he could be a huge jerk, she admitted to herself that he was a gorgeous man. Mikan had light from the moon surrounding her head, looking like an angel. He big brown eyes were curious and innocent, unlike the other girls. Her brown hair was shiny and some of it lingered on her face. Natsume was tempted to push it behind her ears, but held back that urge. To him, she looked like an angel bathed in light, she was like a shining star in the black sky. He didn't say it outloud but he thought she was beautiful under the moon.

After a few minutes of staring, Mikan broke the silence as her eyes looked away.

"What are you doing out here? It's freezing. You couldn't sleep?"

Natsume sighed inwardly and sat up. "I was enjoying the breeze while I could. I already had a long rest so I came here." Mikan turned back to him, but averted his eyes. "Is that why you weren't there with everyone?" He looked to the sky and everything was silent again. "I didn't think anyone would notice I left. So how come you noticed?" Mikan frowned slightly like she was confused herself but soon that frown was gone. "I was going to check on you but didn't see you so I assumed you were in your room." Natsume laid down on the grass under the tree, listening to the crickets. Mikan looked at him curiously, awkwardly sitting there until she decided to lay down next to him. The grass was fluffy and comfortable, and it was dark so many stars could be seen in the sky.

"You know, I've always wondered about how stars can shine that bright. They can shine and shine high up in the sky, but you can't reach them even if you try." Natsume curiously turned to her as she was staring at the sky, her eyes still full of wonder. A small breeze hit their bodies, making Mikan shiver a bit.

Natsume looked up at the sky just like her.

"Maybe stars weren't meant to be reached."

DUN DUN DUNNNNN

I changed the name… again. It was Mysteries of You & I but now it's not.

THANK YOU THANK YOU. Procrastination is a bad thing kids. Don't make it a habit ot you'll procrastinate yourself all the way to 2025. And you'll be writing at 1 in the morning when you have school and a test tomorrow.

WELL, ANYWAY

I'm sorry this was pretty short ;-;

Just so you know, Natsume's last name is Andou for now because he does not know he is a Hyuuga. Mikan is a Yukihara, Misaki just told her that it was Sakura. That's the explanation. cx In shor, they do not know they are of royal blood yet so their last names are different.

OH AND I CHANGED MY PEN NAME. I was Spirit of Autumn, but now I'm kaneki-senpai.

xD sorry I'm really obsessed with Tokyo Ghoul right now.

Till next time, ;)

kaneki-senpai