Himeno: Kyahhh! Tsubasa-senpai will be in this chapter.

Tsubasa: It's about time. I've been itching to make an appearance again.

Himeno: Hehe… Sorry if it took so long.

Natsume: So the shadow freak is here?

Tsubasa: I see you're still a brat, Natsume. By the way, I won't be easy on you since you kissed my precious junior without her permission.

Natsume: Whatever.

Himeno: All right… Bits of that jerk's past will be revealed here.

Natsume: Don't bother with it.

Himeno: Oh shut up and let me do my thing here.

Mikan: Himeno-chan doesn't own Gakuen Alice.

Natsume the Jerk

Episode 9: Past Intercession

"Why were you late for your taping?" Serina Yamada, Mikan's beautiful blonde manager, asked that night at the start of dinner. "I don't recall you having after school activities."

Mikan was sitting right across her manager, her head low. She let out a sigh. "I was helping out a friend and I found out something disturbing about him."

"And who is this friend of yours, Mikan?" Tsubasa asked her. He was sitting right next to her, busy slicing his steak.

"It's Natsume…" Mikan murmured.

Tsubasa almost choked on his food. "What? Isn't that the guy who kissed you?"

Serina raised an eyebrow. "Kissed? What is this all about?" She narrowed her eyes at Mikan and demanded for an explanation.

"Serina-san, it's not what you think. Natsume and I accidentally kissed and that's all. I don't have an affair with him or whatsoever. I don't even like the guy and I don't really get along with him." Mikan explained everything so fast. Her mouth worked like an engine. "But it's too bad that my first kiss have been taken away just like that." She heaved a deep sigh and hunched her shoulders down.

"So, what did you find out about him?" Serina inquired.

"Well, Natsume doesn't have parents anymore, and I've recently found out that Natsume is blaming himself for his parents' death. But his best friend, Ruka-pyon, tells him that it wasn't his fault. I'm confused, Serina-san. I don't really understand what's going on with that guy. I really want to help him, though he's constantly mean to me."

Tsubasa patted her head and smiled at her. "You're really a good girl, Mikan…" he muttered. "It's good that you want to help him, but you have to find out what's causing him to be such a jerk all the time. And as you said, that Natsume fellow is blaming himself for his parents' death. You have to find out why."

Mikan sighed. "But it's useless to ask Natsume about it."

"Then why not ask Ruka Nogi-kun about it?" Serina told her as she sipped her drink. "You told us that he too wants to help his best friend."

Mikan smiled and stood up. "You're right! I can ask Ruka-pyon!" She gulped her drink down to the last drop and ran up the stairs to her room. She needed call Ruka right away.

"Mikan is so energetic," Tsubasa said, chuckling. He was always amused with his little kouhai. "Hey, Mikan phoned earlier and asked for my help. She wanted me to take care of a stubborn old fart in school. Should I help her out?" He scratched the back of his head.

"Stubborn old fart, huh?" Serina leaned back on her chair. "Do as you please… I'm sure Mikan is helping someone out again."

"Okay…" Tsubasa had already finished his dinner and stood up. "I'll better prepare for school tomorrow. Should I wear a disguise?"

"No, let that school know that it's you. I'm sure the girls would be delighted to see you tomorrow."

Tsubasa chuckled to himself. "And that's what I'm afraid of." And then he went upstairs and retired to his room.

"Oh no! I'm going to be late!" Mikan Sakura cried the next day. "Look what time it is!"

"Its 8:00," said Serina in a calm manner and sipped her tea quietly in the living room. Her adorable singer was running back and forth everywhere trying to get herself ready. "Slow down, Mikan… No one's going to eat you."

Tsubasa marched into the living room and greeted the two ladies. He was wearing a grey long-sleeved shirt overlapped with a black t-shirt with red linings. His pants were black and hip hop and his black-red Nike shoes were clearly expensive. Since Tsubasa liked wearing hats, he wore his grey hat on his head. "Morning," he said. "Mikan, you're not ready yet? You're going to be late." He stated the obvious, which made Mikan more anxious.

"And I'm supposed to take you to school today," Mikan moaned. She ran her hands through her long brown hair. "Why didn't my stupid alarm clock ring? Why didn't you even bother to wake me up, Serina-san?"

Serina rolled her eyes dramatically and sipped her tea again. "It's your responsibility as a student to be early. You also must not rely on technology or others just to wake you up," she explained to her. She raised her head to look at Mikan, but she found no girl. "And I'm practically talking to no one."

Tsubasa tried to hold back a smile. "She disappeared while you were still talking, Serina-san," he said and sank down into a chair with a sigh. "I'm pretty excited to visit Mikan's school. I'm sure she has tons of fans there. She told me that a lot of boys always take her pictures everyday. Mikan is really popular."

"Of course… She's a talented singer," Serina said proudly. She placed her teacup on the coffee table and settled her hands on her lap. "Will you two be taking the limo, Tsubasa?"

"Nah…" He shifted in his seat and leaned his cheek on his fisted hand. "We'll walk, or should I say skate to school…"

"Tsubasa-senpai, I'm ready!!!" Mikan yelled out, holding toasted bread in her hand, as she came out of the kitchen. "Let's go! Let's go!" She pulled Tsubasa's hand, but her strength wasn't enough to move the handsome actor.

"All right…" Tsubasa stood up and let his little darling kouhai dragged him all the way to the door. Tsubasa grabbed his navy-blue skateboard with white skulls designs on it as Mikan put on her in-line skates. "Ready to hit the road, Mikan?"

Mikan gulped down her bread and looked up at her favorite senpai and nodded. "Yup!"

There was still five minutes before the time when Mikan and Tsubasa arrived in school, and the moment they stepped into the school grounds, they were immediately stormed by tons of fan girls and fan boys, raging from middle school to high school. It was their usual routine to greet Mikan every morning, but they didn't expect the hot and sexy actor, Tsubasa Andou to be with her. It was like a dream come true for the girls. Most of the girls screamed Tsubasa's name and asked him for his autograph. On the other hand, Mikan was entertaining her fan boys who kept asking her if Tsubasa was her boyfriend. Of course, Mikan told them that he was her favorite senpai and a good friend. Some fans doubted her and some believed in her.

"Tsubasa-sama, marry me!" one of the fan girls said.

"You're not Mikan-sama's boyfriend, are you?" one boy questioned him with a raised brow.

Tsubasa and Mikan chuckled to themselves.

"Is it always like this here, Mikan?" Tsubasa whispered in her ear.

Mikan giggled sweetly. "Yah…sometimes…"

Just before the fans were about to gobble to two young stars, the bell rang and Jinno-sensei darted out of the school building. He was in his usual grumpy self as he ordered the students to go to their respective classrooms immediately or else he'll give them detention. The fans didn't really want to leave their idols, but they were afraid of the rotten teacher. The girls winked their eyes and kissed Tsubasa goodbye, as the boys waved their hands at Mikan, and it didn't take them long to get to the school building.

"Tsubasa-senpai, that's the teacher I've been telling you…" Mikan said in a low voice.

"Hmm… I see…"

Jinno approached them and glared dangerously at Mikan. "Sakura, what are you still doing here? Hurry up and get to class. First period is about to start."

Tsubasa didn't like the look in Jinno's eyes and quickly went in front of Mikan. "Are you trying to scare my kouhai here?" he said in a calm tone.

"You…I know you…" Jinno tapped his stick on his hand. "You're Tsubasa Andou, the famous model and actor. What business do you have here?"

"I have to talk to you about something, sensei," Tsubasa told him. His handsome smile gave Jinno a strange feeling and the teacher didn't like it one bit.

"Tsubasa-senpai, Jinno-sensei, please excuse me…" Mikan bowed her head politely. "But I have to get to class now." She quickly turned and sped off like lightning. When she reached the classroom, she was relieved to find out that her first period teacher wasn't there yet. She went inside and greeted her classmates with her chirpy voice and bright smile.

Everyone, except for the fan girls of the Natsume-Ruka fan club and Natsume himself, greeted her back. She moseyed over to her seat and looked at her seatmate who had a manga over his face. "This guy's habit doesn't change," she said. She then glanced at Ruka and noticed the sad look in his blue eyes. "Ruka-pyon, what's the matter?"

Ruka quickly snapped back to his senses and threw Mikan a smile. "Um…Nothing… Sakura, I heard you went with that Andou guy today to school… Is it true that he's your boyfriend?" Rumors about idols and celebrities usually spread out right away. Ruka happened to hear some girls talking about the lovable Mikan having the hot Tsubasa for her boyfriend. Somehow, hearing that strained him.

"No!" she answered, shaking her head. "Tsubasa-senpai is not my boyfriend. We're just really close. He's my senpai after all."

Relieved to hear that, Ruka smiled at her and said, "That's good to know…"

Unknown to the two of them, Natsume silently sighed in relief, though his face was covered with the manga. He was pretending to sleep when the brunette idol came into the room and sat down. He didn't know why, but he grew a bit furious when he heard the fake rumors buzzing around. Was he jealous? He wasn't sure himself. But he was glad to know that Tsubasa wasn't Mikan's boyfriend.

At lunch, Mikan and Ruka went into the cafeteria and saw a long line of girls. They were giggling with excitement as they kept muttering Tsubasa's name. The two sweat-dropped at this and Ruka's face fell when he saw Tsubasa signing autographs for the ladies in a spot in the cafeteria. The autograph signing was something normal for Mikan, since she does that a lot as well. She grabbed Ruka's hand, making him blush, and dragged him towards Tsubasa.

"Tsubasa-senpai!" Mikan called out.

Tsubasa flashed a handsome smile at her, which made the girls' eyes turn into pink hearts. "Yo, kouhai!" he said. "Your school is packed with cute girls." He winked an eye at the girls and all of them seemed to sigh dreamily. They were extremely awed by Tsubasa's good looks.

"You seem to be enjoying your time," she muttered. "Anyway, about the talk with sensei…"

Ruka raised an eyebrow. "Sensei? Which sensei are you talking about?" he asked her, still feeling a bit awkward. Mikan was still holding his hand, and Ruka hoped his thumping heart wouldn't jump out of place.

"I'll explain it to you later, Ruka-pyon," Mikan told him.

Tsubasa signed another autograph for a girl before he talked back to Mikan. "Yeah, and it wasn't that hard to convince him." He then noticed Mikan's hand intertwined with Ruka's. He looked up at Ruka with a mischievous glint in his dark-blue eyes. "You seem to be very comfortable holding onto her hand like that, shounen."

Ruka blushed ten shades of red and pulled his hand away from Mikan. "It's not like I wanted to." But the truth was he felt wonderful holding Mikan's hand like that.

"I see…" Tsubasa stood from his seat and waved a hand at the girls. "I'm really sorry, girls, but it's time for me to go." He heard a lot of groans, sighs, and moans, and he couldn't help feeling bad about not giving the other girls a chance to get his autograph. But he still had a photo shoot back at the studio and he can't afford to miss that.

"Please don't go, Tsubasa-sama," one girl said.

"We love you! Please stay for a little while longer," another girl boldly told him.

"I'm sorry, girls." Tsubasa took off his hat and brushed his fingers through his unruly dark hair. The girls stared at him with adoration. Tsubasa was really the handsomest and hottest guy that ever walked Japan. "I still have work. It's not easy being an idol."

Mikan nodded in agreement.

Tsubasa grabbed his skateboard and waved the girls goodbye. "Catch you later," he said, winking an eye, and the girls just screamed out his name. He knew that they would charge at him any second, and when they did Tsubasa used his skateboard and skated out of the cafeteria in a flash. Loosing the girls was big relief to him. Fans are fun when they're only in control, he thought. Just before he reached the corner, a girl appeared in front of him. Tsubasa made a hard turn to avoid hitting the girl, and he crashed against the wall.

The girl approached him and folded her arms over her chest. "That's what you get for skating indoors." Her voice was husky and stern.

Tsubasa rubbed his poor head. "You're the one who appeared out of nowhere," he retorted. And then he realized something. "Wait, that voice…" He looked up at the girl and his eyes quickly grew wide at the sight of the girl's face.

"You're still the same guy—always reckless…" she said, narrowing her magenta-dyed eyes. She was a pretty girl, with shoulder-length pink hair, and a very slender body. From the way she spoke to him, she seemed to be very familiar with Tsubasa.

"You…" Tsubasa slowly stood up without taking his Prussian-blue eyes off of her. "I never thought that I would see you again. It's been a long time. How are you?" His voice softened up.

The girl shrugged. "Life's been fine for me," she said, turning her head away. "Very fine without you…"

Tsubasa looked hurt when she said that. He reached out for her, but the girl simply backed away from him. "Look, if you're still mad at me for—"

"I've already forgotten all about it," she cut him off. She spun on her heels and started walking away.

"Don't go!" Tsubasa lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her. "Let's start things over again…" He was whispering this softly into her ear.

The girl winced. "And what makes you think I would want to do that?!" she cried. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. "It's over for us. Now let me go!" She shoved him away and smacked him on the head.

Tsubasa held the sore part of his head as he glanced at the girl. "C'mon… Give me a chance…"

She stayed silent for a moment, recalling her past with Tsubasa. Her memories of him only made her feel bitter. Without a warning, she shouted, "IDIOT!" and ran away from him.

Tsubasa didn't bother going after her. What was the point? She didn't want him anyway. But, in his heart, he wanted her, and he wished to correct the mistakes he has done to her. He had regretted the day he left her. He wanted to make it up to her. However, it was clear that she hated him. What was he going to do?

"So, the reason why you brought Andou to school today was to have a talk with Jinno-sensei," Ruka said before taking a bite out of his tuna sandwich. "And he managed to convince Jinno-sensei? That's pretty hard to believe."

Mikan sipped her drink and nodded her head. "Trust Tsubasa-senpai to get the job again. He's really cool!" She grabbed her ham and cheese sandwich and took a bite. "Now Natsume will be able to participate in the competition."

Ruka was very relieved. He didn't think it would be possible to convince Jinno, but Tsubasa did it. Although Ruka was grateful to Tsubasa, he had Mikan to thank for asking her senior to talk to the teacher. She was the one who thought of the idea and calling Tsubasa in the first place. "Thanks a lot, Sakura. You've been a great help to Natsume."

"You're welcome," Mikan replied after sipping her drink. "I'll do anything to make that pervert better."

"You're still calling him that?" Ruka said, raising a brow.

Mikan shrugged. "Well, he is a big pervert. It's already a fact." She munched on her sandwich fast as she recalled the mop incident the other night. Her face turned slightly red.

For some reason, Ruka wanted to agree and disagree with her.

"Now then, when are you going to tell me about Natsume and his family?" Mikan asked. "I know it's not my place to ask, but I really want to help Natsume and fix his stupid attitude problem. It would be good for Aoi-chan too."

Ruka heaved a sigh. "I know..." He looked around the cafeteria and saw so many people around, not to mention that there were fan boys who were secretly taking pictures of Mikan. He grew annoyed by this. "Let's not talk about it here. Maybe after school perhaps at my place."

"My taping will be at six, so I'll still have time," she said, tapping her chin. "Okay, after school would be nice."

And so, after school, Ruka took Mikan to his extravagant mansion and led her upstairs in his big room. Mikan was telling him about the show she was starring in, and Ruka showed so much interest. He would watch it when it would be televised. And a minute later, the maid came in bringing in a tray of tea and two slices of chocolate cakes and settled it on the table in the terrace.

"Cake! Looks delicious!" Mikan squealed. She skipped towards the table and almost drooled at the sight of the cake.

The maid excused herself with a bow and left the room.

"Let's eat, Sakura…" Ruka said as he took a seat on one of the white furnished dinner chairs. "I assure you that this cake is one of the best."

Mikan grabbed the dessert fork and started eating the cake. "It's so yummy!" she uttered. "Ne, Ruka-pyon, who baked this cake?"

"My mom bought it from the Angel Cake Bakery Shop," Ruka replied as he sipped his tea. "And you know what, Anna-chan is the one who baked this."

"EH???!" Mikan was surprised. She didn't know that one of her classmates was a talented baker. That was a news flash for her. "Anna-chan's good. This cake is like the best I've ever tasted."

"Anna-chan's mom owns the cake shop, and she and my mom are good friends." And when Ruka looked at Mikan, he gasped as he noticed that Mikan had already finished the cake. How fast! He really did sweat-drop.

"Now then…" Mikan placed the saucer and fork down on the table and settled her hands on her lap. "About Natsume…" she said as she looked at Ruka.

Ruka sighed and placed the teacup down. "I swore to never tell this to anyone, but I figured that you might be the only one who can change him." There was nothing but seriousness in his beautiful sapphire orbs and his voice was very serene when he started speaking. "Natsume had always been a bitter guy—even when his parents were still alive. But he was a way better person before than he is right now."

-----"The Day I met Him"-----

"Class, we're going to have a new student today," the teacher announced at a bright Monday morning in spring. "Please give a warm welcome to your new classmate, Ruka Nogi-kun."

An 8-year old boy with blonde hair and sapphire orbs walked into the classroom, wearing the Alice Academy elementary uniform. The girls in class started whispering about him, saying that he was cute and adorable, while some boys thought that he looked like a girl.

"I'm Ruka Nogi…I've transferred here from France because of my mom's work," Ruka explained in a mild-mannered tone.

And then one of the girls stood up. She had short sea-green hair and dark-green eyes. "Nogi? I know that name! Don't tell me that you're the son of Etoile Nogi, the famous fashion designer from France?" Her eyes were sparkling like the stars.

Ruka sweat dropped, thinking absurdly of the girl. "Yes… Etoile Nogi is my mom…" And with that, most of the girls started cheering. They were well aware of the fact that Etoile Nogi is one of the best there is when it comes to fashion and it was such a great honor to have her good-looking son who looks like a prince as their classmate.

"I've decided!" She pointed a finger at him, with a wide smirk plastered on her face. "I'm going to establish a fan club for you!"

"Huh?" Ruka gasped silently, as the boys stared at the girl as if she was a psychopath.

Another girl stood up. She had dark short hair with a small pigtail. "President Sumire, that's a great idea…" she said. "But we already establish a fan-club for Natsume-kun…"

Sumire shook her head. "It's not a problem, Usumu!" She clenched her fist and raised it high. "Our fan club will be called the Natsume-Ruka Fan Club! We can admire both of them!" She laughed out loud like a witch.

Usumu and the other fan club girls agreed with Sumire totally, and some of the girls and the boys let out a frustrating groan.

"Shouda-san, Wakako-san, please take you seats…" the teacher muttered, referring to Sumire and Usumu. "You can discuss about your little fan club later."

When Sumire and Usumu sat down, the teacher told Ruka to take the seat beside a sleeping boy with a manga on his face. Ruka nodded and went to his seat. He glanced at his new seatmate, wondering why he was sleeping in class. Isn't he scared of getting scolded by the teacher? Well, it's none of my concern.

Ruka had skipped lunch that day because his fan girls wouldn't stop pestering him on his way to the cafeteria. The girls back in France were more sophisticated, but he can't expect all girls to be the same. He managed to ditch them when he told them that he was going to the bathroom. And now he was out walking in the school garden. He found it to be a very beautiful place and it reminded him of the flower garden back at his mansion. The flowers were extremely beautiful and he especially loved the Sakura Trees.

Trouble came when he encountered two middle school students and one elementary student. These guys were the notorious three of the academy, and they like running things in their own way. Their favorite hobby was bullying other kids.

"What do we have here?" the green-haired elementary student spoke up. "A blonde dude who looks like a sissy girl." He snickered.

The orange-haired middle school guy cracked his knuckles. "I think he's the new kid. I heard some girls talking about him. He's the son of a fashion designer."

"Hmph… So he's a rich kid, huh?" The other middle school student, who had sharp slit eyes and spiky hair, shot him a malicious grin. "Fork over your cash, kid…" He extended his hand towards Ruka.

Ruka backed away a few steps and put on a brave face. "I'm not giving you guys any money…" he managed to say.

"I don't think you know who we are," the green-haired student said. "If you don't want to get hurt, then do what we say. Hand over your money…"

Of course, Ruka didn't want to get hurt, but he can't let those guys order him around.

"Didn't anyone tell you? We're pretty infamous around here. I'm Hayate Matsudaichi…" the spiky-haired guy said. He pointed at the orange-haired guy with his thumb and introduced him as 'Kyo Souma', while the other one was 'Raito Tsurugi'. "You better remember that kid, since you're a student here now."

Ruka neither flinched nor move from his spot. He thought of running away from them, but the chances of him escaping were slim. But if he won't do anything, those guys were going to cream him.

"Hey, quit being stubborn, kid," Kyo said, showing him a fist. "Give us your money."

"No, I won't," Ruka retorted.

Kyo got pissed with him. "Being tough, huh? I'll show you!" He was going to punch the blonde boy, but someone appeared out of the blue and kicked Kyo away.

"What the hell?!" Raito uttered. "You?!" He glared at the interrupter.

Ruka stared at one who saved him in surprise. He had messy raven locks and crimson-red eyes. And Ruka noticed that he was holding a very familiar manga in his hand. Then Ruka realized that he was the one sleeping in class. My seatmate? Why is he here?

"Well, if it isn't the little bastard, Natsume Hyuuga," Hayate said, his voice grim and dangerous. He clenched his fist hard and smirked at Natsume.

Kyo recovered from the hit and motioned over to his friends. "Hyuuga, you moron… I'll make you pay for that."

"Hmph…" Natsume shrugged and turned his back at them. "You guys are pathetic. Why don't you guys do something useful for once? But I guess you guys are just too dumb." He peered over his shoulder and glared at them with his cold crimson eyes.

At that moment, Ruka kept staring at Natsume, and he was beginning to think that his sleeping seatmate was a trouble-maker like the infamous three. However, he guessed that Natsume was different from them at the same time, since he did save him from Kyo.

Kyo, Hayate, and Raito were about to fight him, but a teacher came and scolded them. The three of them quickly made a run for it, because the teacher happened to be the strict Jinno-sensei, but Natsume and Ruka stayed put.

Himeno: Okay, STOP!

Mikan: Himeno-chan, why did you stop there? I wanted to know more of Natsume's past.

Himeno: I know… But I have to keep up the suspense.

Ruka: I don't think my mom's name is Etoile…

Himeno: Sorry… It's just that it was never stated in the manga! Sorry, Ruka-pyon.

Ruka: Well, at least you gave her a good name.

Himeno: I have to apologize again, Ruka-pyon.

Ruka: Why?

Himeno: There's going to be a NatsumexMikan moment in the next chapter.

Mikan: Eh? Me and that pervert?!

Himeno: Yeah!

Ruka: Erm… (Looks sad)

Himeno: But your time will come too, Ruka-pyon. Just be patient with me.

Ruka: It's not as if… Well, I do… (Blushes when he looks at Mikan)… Nevermind…

Himeno: Hehe… Well, readers tell me what you think, okay? Give me reviews.

Mikan: No flaming please…