Himeno: Chapter 26 is here. I know I'm very late in updating. I was busy with school. My mom also confiscated my laptop. I had to borrow my sister's, so I can update this.

Mikan: Your mom is strict.

Himeno: She's like a monster when she gets mad.

Mikan: Still, you're lucky that you have a mom. (Sighs)

Himeno: Mikan-chan…

Sumire: What's with the depressed face, Sakura-san? Did Natsume-kun and Ruka-kun dump you? (Laughs sinisterly)

Mikan: Why would you bring up Natsume and Ruka-pyon?

Himeno: (Hits Sumire with a paper fan) Don't mind permy, Mikan-chan. She's just being insensitive as usual.

Sumire: What did you say?!

Himeno: You're insensitive, which is so true.

Sumire: Why you… (Going Medusa mode)

Himeno: Kokoroyomi, would you mind?

Kokoroyomi: Understood! (walks up to Permy and kissed her on the lips) How was that?

Sumire: (Blushes furiously) How dare you kiss me so suddenly, moron?!

Himeno: Hmmm… I'm sure you liked it.

Mikan: Yeah, permy!

Sumire: SHUT UP! Just start the story already.

Himeno: Sure… Whatever… (Giggles) Remember, I don't own Gakuen Alice. I'm just borrowing the characters for this story.

Mikan: Enjoy the story everyone.

Natsume the Jerk

Episode 26: Confusions and Trouble

After the kiss, Mikan crumbled to the ground with her lips trembling. It wasn't her first time being kissed by him. But she wondered why he kissed her and why he said he wanted to be something more. She touched her lips, remembering the warmth of his lips.

"Don't make such a big deal of it," Natsume said coldly. "It was just a kiss."

Mikan dropped her hands to her side as she lowered her head more. "Yeah…just a kiss for you…" she muttered. "Natsume…why…why did you kiss me anyway? Last time, you kissed me just to show your gratitude and now…"

Despite of what he did, she has yet to realize his feelings for her. It seemed like he has to say it, so she would understand. "Look… I didn't kiss you just because I felt like it…" he started, brushing his hand through his unruly hair. "It's because I…"

"Are you making fun of me again?" she asked, getting back on her feet. "If you are, then it's not funny. You're only confusing me, Natsume."

"That's because you just don't get it," Natsume said in a firm voice. He refused to go soft at her at the moment. "You're so slow."

Mikan spun on her heels. "So what if I'm slow? It doesn't mean you have the right to play around with my feelings." She sounded angry and sad at the same time. "Natsume, if you have something to say to me then just say it." With that, she took off in a hurry.

"Damn it…" he said, gritting his teeth. "I messed up again." He was in the verge of confessing his feelings to her, but he just had to insult her again. He cursed his stupid bad mouth.

Mikan tried concentrating in class the next day. But all she could think about was Natsume and the kiss. Natsume had decided to skip school and stayed at home, saying that he didn't feel well. Mikan knew he was lying. She knew he didn't want to face her for what he did to her yesterday.

During lunch she sat down together with Anna and Nonoko at the cafeteria. While the two were sipping their orange juice, Mikan played with her food as she kept on thinking about Natsume. She then asked the two girls a question. "What does it mean to kiss somebody on the lips?"

"Eh? Kiss?" Nonoko muttered.

"What's with the question, Mikan-chan?" Anna asked.

"Oh, it just came up…" Mikan said, letting out an awkward laugh.

Nonoko thought about it for a while. "Well, if you're going to kiss somebody on the lips, it has to be someone you really like," she explained.

Anna agreed with Nonoko totally by nodding her head. "Kissing is such a sweet thing," she said. "I always dreamt of being kissed by my dream guy."

"Wait a minute… If you get kissed by someone, does it mean that someone likes you?" Mikan asked.

"Of course!" Nonoko and Anna answered in unison.

Mikan was getting more confused by the minute. If what they were saying was true, then the reason why Natsume kissed her was because he liked her. No, that can't be right. There were his moments of being nice to her, but most of the time he was mean to her.

"Mikan-chan, we're rather curious," Anna asked. "You don't do kissing scenes yet, but have you kissed a guy before?"

"Yeah, on the lips, perhaps?" Nonoko added.

Mikan recalled all the times she shared a kiss with Natsume and blushed furiously. Her blush didn't go unnoticed by the two girls. At that point, they started teasing her. "No, you got it wrong!" she said. "I just remembered one of Tsubasa-senpai's kissing scenes."

"Speaking of Tsubasa-sama…" Anna sighed dreamily. "How is he? When is he going to visit our school again?"

"He's pretty busy these days," Mikan replied.

"Celebrity life is tough, huh?" Nonoko said.

"Really tough," Mikan said with sigh.

After finishing her lunch, Mikan went to Aoi and asked her the same question she asked Nonoko and Anna. Aoi gave her the same answer as the two did. "Are you sure about that? Let's say there's this guy who has been really mean to a girl and then one day he suddenly kisses the girl for no apparent reason at all. Don't tell me that guy likes the girl?"

Aoi didn't have to think twice for the answer. "I bet that guy is only mean to her because he's actually shy," she said. "He doesn't want to show his real feelings which is why he acts so mean." Aoi had the feeling that something sweet happened between her brother and Mikan. Why else would Mikan ask her about the kiss?

"I still don't know…" Mikan muttered. Natsume never showed his true self in front of others, even though she knew how good of a person he was inside. "Aoi-chan, I have another question…"

"What is it?"

"When a guy kisses you then tells you that he wants to be something more, what does it mean?"

"Mikan-chan, don't tell me a guy actually—"

The brunette immediately shook her head. "No… I just saw a scene from a taping once and I was just wondering."

"The guy probably wants to be more than friends with the girl," Aoi answered. "He wants the girl to be his girlfriend."

"G-Girlfriend?!" Mikan slightly blushed. Natsume wants me to be his girlfriend? Is that what he really meant? No way! That can't be it!

After class, Mikan went straight home. She planned on confronting Natsume about her doubts. But as she stood in front of Natsume's bedroom, she was having second thoughts. What if everything her friends said were true? What if Natsume really likes her? What would she do when she finds out the truth from him? She started to feel nervous.

"But I must find out!" Mikan exclaimed with an iron fist. "I mustn't hesitate." She took a deep breath and knocked on Natsume's door. There was no answer. She knocked on the door again, but he wasn't opening up.

She decided to go in anyway. As she looked around his room, Natsume was no where in sight. She checked the bathroom and no one was there. Where did Natsume go?

Sighing, she exited Natsume's room and headed towards her room. "Maybe he went out," she muttered. As she went inside her room, she was shocked to find Natsume there lying on her own bed. "N-Natsume? What are you doing here?"

"Reading my manga, duh…" Natsume said, flipping a page. "You're home early."

"Don't change the topic!" Mikan stomped her way towards the bed and shot him a glare. "Who gave you permission to enter this room? You know that this is my bedroom."

Natsume shrugged. "This used to be my parent's bedroom, so technically I don't need your permission to be here."

Mikan knew that arguing with him won't be pretty. "Natsume, can I ask you something?"

"Even if I say no, you're just going to ask anyway," he said, sitting up on the bed. "What is it?"

"Did you kiss me because you like me?" Mikan asked, fiddling with her fingers.

Natsume raised a brow. He wasn't the least bit surprised with the question. He knew how naïve the brunette was. If he wants his feelings to be realized, then he has to be clear with it. "Do you really think I would kiss you without any special reasons? Polka-dots, you're such a blockhead."

"Don't answer my question with a question, moron," she said with a pout. "And don't try to wriggle your way out of this by insulting me."

He was seriously going to say it. Maybe he'll have an advantage over Ruka once he'll confess. "Damn you… You're giving me a hard time," he said, turning his head away. "I'm only going to say this once so listen up."

"I'm listening," Mikan assured him.

Natsume looked at her again, while trying not to blush. He never expected a confession to be hard. The fan girls at school made it look easy. "I don't know if I'll get rejected after this, but I'll still stay it," he said. "I…I lo—"

Just then, Aoi burst into the room. "Mikan-chan, I'm home!" she said in a loud voice. She had unknowingly blown Natsume's chance to confess his feelings. "Onii-chan, why are you here? This is Mikan-chan's room."

A vein bulging out of his head, Natsume jumped off the bed and approached Aoi. "You're really stupid," he said, giving Aoi one deadly glare. "You owe me big time." He marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Aoi tilted her head in confusion. "Um…Why was Onii-chan angry?" she asked.

Mikan sighed. "He's always grouchy," she replied. "But I wonder what he was about to say to me."

"Why is your cheek sore, Aoi-chan?" Kokoroyomi asked the young Hyuuga the next day at school. "Did you get bullied again?"

Aoi held her cheek and sighed deeply. Her brother pinched her cheek hard yesterday. "I got scolded by Onii-chan…" she said. "I'm not sure what I did wrong, but he told me that I was a complete bother to him."

"Did your clumsiness land you into trouble again?"

"I wasn't being clumsy yesterday," Aoi defended. "I just went into Mikan's room while he was there."

Kokoroyomi was starting to get the picture. "Were they talking about something important?"

"Um… I think so… Mikan-chan did say that he was about to say something to her until I came," she explained.

"I see…" Kokoroyomi figured what really happened. "Aoi-chan…bad timing…." He sighed.

"Bad timing?" she muttered. "What do you mean?"

Kokoroyomi just patted her head. "Forget what I said. Let's go to class now."

The two of them started towards Aoi's classroom first.

"Onii-chan, you and Shouda-san are already a couple, right?" Aoi asked, and Kokoroyomi nodded his head in reply. "But your relationship is kinda secretive. The whole school doesn't seem to know it yet."

"Permy is not yet ready to let the school know," Kokoroyomi answered. "Besides, she has a reputation to keep. I don't mind it. I understand her."

Her Kokoroyomi-oniichan was one good guy. He was always thoughtful no matter how mischievous he was to Sumire. "It doesn't even bother you that she's still the president of Natsume-oniichan and Ru-chan's fan club," she said. "Shouda-san is real lucky to have you."

Kokoroyomi chuckled. "Thanks. But I'm lucky to have her as my girlfriend too."

When they've reached Aoi's classroom, it was time for them to separate. Aoi bid goodbye to the funny guy went walked into the classroom. As soon as she reached her seat, two of her classmates approached her. She looked up at them and asked, "May I help you?" Much to her dismay, the two girls were her occasional bullies.

"Having fun with your Kokoroyomi-oniichan, bitch?" one of them said. She had long dark-brown hair and emerald-green eyes. She was very pretty yet snooty.

Aoi swallowed hard. The bullies were picking a fight with her again. It was best not to say anything to them or else it might get worse.

"What's the matter, Hyuuga-san?" the other girl asked. This beauty had long lavender hair tied in a ponytail and a pair of cherry red eyes. "Cat cut your tongue? Or are you just afraid to speak up because of your ugly voice?

The two bullies have hated Aoi since elementary and they've done so many mean things to her. Truth to be known, they hated her for a lot of reasons. First of all, Aoi was Natsume Hyuuga's little sister. They can't stand Natsume's delinquency around school. They have already suffered his wrath before—even though they didn't do anything to him. The second reason was because Aoi's clumsiness had led them to trouble as well. Whether it was intentional or not, Aoi still made them look bad in front of the class. The other reason was because they were jealous of Aoi's closeness with the popular idol, Mikan Sakura, their campus heartthrob, Ruka Nogi, and their resident cute guy, Kokoroyomi.

"If don't want to speak up, then read this instead," the brown-haired girl said, slamming a piece of paper on Aoi's desk. "You better do whatever that is written here, Hyuuga-san."

The lavender-haired girl let out a chuckle. "You'll be sorry if you don't come," she said.

When the two of them went back to their seats, Aoi started reading the writings on the paper. She grimaced. "Oh no…" she muttered as her hands started trembling. "Should I tell this to Kokoroyomi-oniichan? I'm in big trouble again."

It was his mistake to try and confess his feelings to her. Ever since that morning, he was bugged non-stop by the girl he loved. Natsume couldn't have one moment of peace. Mikan was so keen in finding out what he was going to say to her before his stupid sister showed up.

He finally got his well-deserved peace when he and Ruka entered the boy's comfort room. However, he knew he would have to face her again once he gets out.

"Natsume, why does Sakura keep asking you the same thing over and over again?" Ruka asked, turning on the faucet to wash his hands.

"Why? Jealous coz she's been paying attention to me than you?" Natsume had a proud smirk on his face.

Ruka shook his head. "No… I was just wondering," he said. "By the way, how come you never talked about your date with her?"

Natsume shrugged. "And why the hell should I tell you?" he said. "Have you forgotten that we're rivals here?"

"Oh, come on…" Ruka turned off the faucet and dried his hand with a tissue paper. "We're still best friends. I tried asking Sakura about it, but she just told me that she had fun. I still want to know where you guys went."

"So you can plan out for your own date?" Natsume folded his arms over his chest. "You're not getting anything from me, idiot."

Ruka sweat-dropped. His best friend was so sharp as usual. Natsume was able to tell his real intention. "You're really stubborn, Natsume."

"Stubborn? Hmph…" Natsume released a frustrated sigh. "You should tell that to polka-dots. She's such a pest."

"That's because you won't answer her question, you dope," Ruka said with a chuckle.

They walked out the comfort room together and expected to see Mikan, but the brunette was nowhere in sight.

"Wasn't Sakura waiting for us?" Ruka asked.

"She was more likely waiting for me," Natsume said. "No matter… At least I won't be bothered for a while."

Before they could even take one step, Kokoroyomi arrived and greeted them in his usual cheerful manner. "Fancy bumping into you guys here. Anyway, have you seen Aoi-chan? I can't find her anywhere. I wanted to have lunch with her and permy."

"Don't know…" Natsume said coldly. "Don't care…"

Kokoroyomi chuckled and patted Natsume's back. "Oh, don't be like that, Onii-chan!" he said. "I know you care for your sister as much as I do."

Natsume shot him a glare. "I'll hit you if you call me Onii-chan again," he said, "and don't touch me."

Kokoroyomi backed away, smiling awkwardly at the raven-haired guy. "Scary as usual, huh?" he muttered, scratching the back of his head. "I better resume my search for Aoi-chan." He quickly turned around and dashed away.

Behind the middle school building, two middle school girls had one raven-haired girl pinned against the wall. The two were bullies and the one being bullied was Aoi.

"So good of you to come, Hyuuga-san," the brown-haired girl said with a sinister smile. "You really do care about Kokoroyomi-san, huh?"

The lavender-haired girl twirled a lock of her hair. "I didn't think you would come here, Hyuuga-san," she said. "I thought you were just a chicken."

Honestly, Aoi didn't want to come. But what was written on the letter was very disturbing. If she didn't comply with their request, Kokoroyomi would suffer the consequences. "You can do whatever you want with me," she muttered. "Just don't do anything to hurt Kokoroyomi-oniichan."

"She sounds pretty desperate," the lavender-haired girl said. "Don't you think so, Fumi-chan?"

"I agree, Momoe-chan," the brown-haired girl said.

"You do know that my father is the CEO of Sumeragi Corporation," Momoe said, placing one hand on her waist. "Kokoroyomi-san's mother happens to work in my father's company."

Aoi bit her lowered lip. "Sumeragi-san, if you're angry at me, you don't have to involve other people," she said.

Momoe slapped Aoi's face. "That's right," she exclaimed, clenching her fist. "I'm angry at you and that stupid brother of yours. I don't know why you still come to this school. Nobody in class even likes you and it's obvious that the teachers don't care about you at all." She grabbed a handful of Aoi's hair and pulled her down.

"Hyuuga-san, you don't want Kokoroyomi-san's mother to lose her job, right?" Fumi asked, kicking Aoi in the stomach.

Holding her tears, Aoi gazed up at Fumi and shook her head. "Please… Don't drag Onii-chan's mother into this," she begged in a frail voice. "Do whatever you want with me."

Fumi let out a chuckle. "Trying to play the martyr's role, huh?" She grabbed Aoi by the collar and pushed her towards the wall. "How pathetic of you, Hyuuga-san. I can see how much you care for Kokoroyomi-san. It's such a pity he has to take care of an ugly bitch like you. Do us a favor, stay away from Kokoroyomi-san."

Aoi's crimson eyes grew wide in surprise. "I-I can't do that…" she said. "Kokoroyomi-oniichan is my friend."

"Does it look like we care?" Momoe spatted. "We're warning you, Hyuuga-san. If you don't stay away from Kokoroyomi-san, his mother will pay dearly. I know you don't want that to happen. And what do you think Kokoroyomi would say if you're the reason why his mother lost her job? He will surely hate you, Hyuuga-san."

"No…" Aoi fell on her knees and started crying. "No…please…"

Fumi shrugged. "Oh, great… She's crying…" She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed in frustration. "Quit the drama, Hyuuga-san. Do you think we'll pity you?"

"But why would you want me to stay away from Kokoroyomi-oniichan?" Aoi asked, her hands trembling.

"That's because ugly and stupid bitches like you don't deserve any friends," Momoe told her. "And ever since you and Kokoroyomi-san became friends, we weren't able to bully you as much as we want to anymore."

Fumi nodded her head in agreement. "Momoe-chan is serious about this, Hyuuga-san," she said. "You better listen to her or else."

Momoe checked her watch and found out that lunch time was almost over. "Just great…" she said with a shrug. "We won't be able to have lunch."

"That's too bad. Well, Hyuuga-san is to blame here." Fumi glanced back at the crying Aoi and smirked sinisterly. "It's always her fault. If she wasn't such a nuisance, we won't be having any problems."

"Fumi-chan, let's go. I don't want to stay here and waste my time more." Momoe flipped her hair and pointed a finger at Aoi. "Plus, I can't stand standing next to this ugly thing. I may catch her idiotic germs. Eww…"

"Hyuuga-san, don't you dare tell this to anyone else, especially Kokoroyomi-san," Fumi said.

The two snobby girls walked away, looking happy and satisfied with what they did.

As tears continued to fall, Aoi leaned her back against the wall and hugged her knees against her chest. Momoe and Fumi would never leave her alone. They hated her to the core. She didn't expect them to use Kokoroyomi's mother just to make her life miserable. She had to end her friendship with Kokoroyomi. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Kokoroyomi was an important friend to her. How could she stay away from him?

Misaki Harada was about to unlock the gate to her house when a familiar voice called out her name. She paused for a while, getting a funny feeling in her heart, before she turned around to face the person. Yeah, it was really Tsubasa in the flesh. But she wasn't happy to see him.

The model was wearing something simple. Just a blue t-shirt and jeans with a pair of sneakers, and he looked nervous as he took a step forward. "Misaki, hey there…" he said. "I just—"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see you, Tsubasa," Misaki said disapprovingly. She turned around and unlocked the gate.

Tsubasa laughed. "Misaki, come on…" he muttered, reaching for her shoulder. "Let's talk."

The red-haired girl slapped his hand away and shot him a deadly glare. "Don't you dare touch me, Tsubasa," she coldly said.

"You hate me this much…?" Tsubasa lowered his gaze to the ground. "I guess it's understandable. But I want you to give me a chance, Misaki. I want to correct my mistakes."

"This is a surprise," Misaki sarcastically said, crossing her arms. "You've finally decided to lower your stupid pride, huh?"

"It's been too long," Tsubasa answered. "I can't stand going through life without you, Misaki." His Prussian-blue eyes flashed up to her, their expression sincere.

Misaki narrowed her eyes. "You can't stand going through life without me? Is that a line from your drama or something? Are you trying to win me back by being sorry? Well, it's not going to work, Tsubasa." She had been hurt badly in the past because of Tsubasa, and she didn't want it to happen again. Once was enough for her.

Tsubasa's frown grew deeper. "Misaki, I'm really sorry," he said, clamping her shoulders with his hands. "Let me make it up to you. Please, I beg you, Misaki. I want you in my life again."

"Back off!!" With all her strength, she punched Tsubasa in the stomach. "Why don't you ask one of your fan girls to be your girlfriend instead? I know how much you love your fans!" She pulled his arm, performed a judo move, and threw him to the ground.

"That hurts…" Tsubasa managed to say, wincing in pain. As expected, Misaki was still as strong as a guy. She was always violent and hot-tempered, but she was really a nice and great person. Tsubasa loved everything about her, but Misaki doesn't seem to love him anymore. "I guess I no longer have a chance…"

Misaki turned her head away and clenched her fists. "Just give up on me, Tsubasa," she said, almost hesitating. "We can't be together anymore, because my feelings for you are long gone." Though she sounded so coldly, she tried so hard to hold back the tears.

"And you have a new boyfriend now…" Tsubasa slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. "Tell me, are you happy with him?"

She stared down and through gritted teeth, she said, "Yeah, I'm happy with him." She opened the gate and looked back at him. "So, don't bother me anymore, Tsubasa." She then hurriedly went inside her house.

The young model got back to his feet, not bothering to fix himself up. He stared blankly at his ex-girlfriend's house and drew in a deep breath. "Misaki…I'm sorry…" he muttered under his breath.

END OF EPISODE 26

Himeno: I'll make those bullies pay in the next chapter.

Mikan: They were so mean to Aoi-chan!

Sumire: I'm going to enjoy the next chapter.

Kokoroyomi: Me too.

Sumire: Let's make sure we'll teach them a lesson they will never forget.

Kokoroyomi: I'm with you all the way, permy.

Mikan: Permy, don't use violence, okay? I know those bullies have to be punished for what they did to Aoi-chan, but beating them up is not the answer.

Sumire: Sakura, I won't go so low. I have other plans for them.

Kokoroyomi: And I'm getting more thrilled by the minute.

Himeno: In the next chapter, Mikan will also find out about Tsubasa and Misaki's past relationship. She's going to help her senior.

Mikan: I will? That's good!

Himeno: Tsubasa needs someone to comfort him, you know.

Mikan: I feel sorry for him.

Himeno: Okay, that's all for now. Please review.

Mikan: No flaming.