Natsume rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger to relieve himself of the fatigue that had accumulated over the past few nights that were spent devising plans to hide her scent from his classmates and the high society parties that he would have to attend in the future. The serum was not readily available and acquiring it via his uncle was the quickest way possible.

"Breakfast is served, young master," his butler's voice distracted him from his deep thoughts. He nodded, and the old man gently laid the silver rimmed plate in front of him. "For breakfast today, we have apricot jam, toast and your favourite breakfast tea blend, please enjoy," his butler listed out the few food items plated ever so exquisitely on the plate as he had done so over the past few years. As the young master picked up his fork and knife, ready to tuck in, the elderly butler gave one last bow before climbing up a few flights of stairs to check on the new member of the house.

He walked down the corridor leading to her room, looking out of the large windows that lined the walls to admire the morning glories that were in full bloom. There were two blue robins perched on the window sills, singing their morning songs, as if to welcome the new day. Days such as this were common, but things had seemed different ever since the brunette had graced the house with her presence. At least dinners were much more lively now, he thought to himself, thinking back to last night, laughing in a way you probably remembered your own grandparents do so.

In his inner mind theatre, the scene of Natsume reprimanding Mikan for using the wrong utensils replayed and he couldn't help but thank her for already opening him up, even if it's to a tiny extent. Just as he was busy being grateful, her room's door opened and the girl walked out, wearing her new school uniform.

"Ojii-san! Does this look good?" she tugged at the hem of her skirt, not used to the length of it. It was an inch above where her knee was, which meant that it was at least 4 inches shorter than what she was used to wearing in her conservative household. Over the past few days, the elderly butler had grown to seeing the hyperactive klutz as his own grand-daughter and he was happy to be able to experience that even in his later years. The uniform consisted of a simple buttoned white shirt, with a red tie, collar pin and lastly a black skirt.

"It looks good, Mikan-chan," he smiled, still quite unused to calling her by her first name (she insisted that he did or she would ignore him). She gave him a sheepish laugh but snapped out of her embarrassment quickly. "I smell breakfast! I'll be heading down first!" She waved goodbye to the butler and dashed down the stairs. Her stomach had been grumbling in protest since last night but her secret mission to creep downstairs was ruined when she saw Natsume on the phone located in the living room. He was always at wherever she did not want him to be.

She ran past the many white and thick pillars that held the mansion up, with the fragrance of freshly toasted bread wafting into her nostrils, spurring her to run even faster. From a distance, the squeaky sounds that her footsteps made upon contact with the sparkly clean marbled tiled floor travelled into his ears and he rolled his eyes. Placing his fork down, he held out his hand in a stop sign, so that the poor starving girl would have to halt when she saw his hand.

One more corner, she thought. One more corner, he thought. Just as she was about to rush for her usual seat, his stop sign came into sight and against her will, she stopped in her dive for the toast on the * table. "How old are you?" He asked with a tone of extreme sarcasm. "Eighteen?" And her, being as dense as she was, did not get it. "So can you behave your age?" He picked up his jam knife and carried on spreading the orange sticky jam on the golden crispy toast, leaving her to stand there, salivating terribly.

The sound of the metal knife scraping against the crisp surface of the toast engaged her sense of hearing, along with her sense of sight and smell in the now silent dining hall. She swallowed her saliva, awaiting him to give her the signal to carry on.

He, on the other hand, pretended to be focused on his breakfast, but was observing her from the corner of his eyes, smirking as he did so. If there was one word he could use to describe her, over the past few days, he had concluded that it should be: puppy-like.

Satisfied with teasing her, he stretched a leg out and pushed out the chair adjacent to his by its leg, giving her the okay sign. She dashed forth and plopped herself on the comfy seat, stuffing mouthfuls of toast into her mouth along with large gulps of fresh milk.

Sure, she missed home, but to say that life here has been terrible would be an atrocious lie. Weirdly enough, not a single move on her was made over the past 4 days since she arrived and the food here was simply too scrumptious. Besides, she got to attend school, for free!

"How's your training coming along?" he asked with eyes fixated on the newspapers.

"Hmm, not bad, I guess?" her mouth full of toast.

An image of herself dropping the book placed on top of her head and almost twisting her ankle while in heels flashed across her mind and she instantly felt guilty for lying to him, but continued to smile anyway.

"Really? I'll check in on you tonight," he looked up from his papers ever so slightly, giving her the all-knowing look she had grown accustomed over the past few days.

"There's no need to! Really!" her guilt was spreading all over her face.

"As part of my household, I am sorry to say that your way of living is unacceptable in this high society if you should want to be spared being the object of ridicule in high society," he sat at his armchair, behind a beautiful mahogany table, his left leg crossed over his right.

"Yes... Hyuuga-san," she answered meekly, clearly intimidated by his domineering demeanour.

"You will learn to act like a lady before school starts. Remember, your behaviour in school will reflect the dignity and pride carried by the Hyuuga family. Never embarrass us."

Gulping, she nodded and broke eye contact with her gorgeous master.

"Hn, I've got better things to do anyway," he poured some milk into his tea and stirred the milk tea gently with a tea spoon, deciding that it was enough teasing for a day.

The school they were going to, Gakuen Alice, was a mere thirty minutes ride away from the Hyuuga residence. During the thirty minutes, the butler revised with Mikan time and time again the manners of being a lady and warning her to speak as little as possible in order to avoid saying things that she probably should not.

The limousine arrived at the tall metal gates of the school, that had many swirls wrought into it and right in between, split into half by the two sides of the gates, was the school crest. They waited in the car till the butler opened the door for them and Mikan gingerly stepped out. It was a sensation she had never experienced; as though she was a superstar of some sort, except there were no looks of adoration on anyone's eyes, only looks of fear and occasionally, awe.

She walked on beside Natsume, casting a glance at him once and then. He was totally unfazed with the comments being directed at them. Guess he was used to them. He maintained a lead of a few steps from Mikan, exuding an aura as cold as ever, so cold people automatically made way for him to pass. In reality, the raven hair boy was relieved that his reliable butler sneaked in a few of those pills into her tea. For now, it seems like it was effective.