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CHAPTER 5

It was that night. The night she officially cheated on Ruka.

Mikan woke up in the middle of the night, and found Natsume sleeping soundly beside her. His hand was linked with hers, giving her warmth with his Fire Alice.

"Natsume… What are we going to do..." whispered Mikan, stroking his soft raven hair gently.

"We are going to SLEEP, Polka Dots," Natsume opened his crimson red orbs suddenly, causing Mikan to jump in shock, "Don't you ever sleep, little girl?"

"Natsume! Don't scare people like that!" Mikan punched him hard on the shoulder.

"Shut up, Polka Dots… You're too loud," Natsume wrapped his arms around her and murmured, "You need to learn how to be discreet, considering the situation we're in."

They were both thinking the same words: I'm sorry, Ruka.


"IMAI!! STOP RIGHT THERE!!" Ruka Nogi yelled as he chased Hotaru Imai frantically across the academy. Hotaru glanced at him with her expressionless eyes, and continued driving her duck scooter as Ruka rode on a cheetah to chase her. Nothing much had changed between them during the six years.

"GIVE THOSE BLOODY PHOTOS BACK!"

Hotaru stopped short as Ruka almost bumped into her, surprised that she stopped. She held a thick envelope that contained pictures of him and Mikan in her hand and said monotonously: "The latest 'Ruka Nogi's Love Life' package costs 3000 rabbits."

"ARGH… IMAI!!" Ruka lunged at her, catching her by surprise. She was flung of her scooter and they fell onto the ground, and Ruka landed on top of her, pressing his lips against hers in the process.

They widened their eyes in shock.

Ruka scrambled up quickly, red as a tomato and looked away, muttering: "I'm sorry, Mikan… I'm sorry Mikan…"

Hotaru touched her lips gently.

"Don't you owe ME an apology too?" she demanded as she snapped out of her trance.

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't provoked me!" snapped Ruka.

Hotaru fell silent.

Ruka immediately regretted opening his mouth.

"Um… Imai?" He tapped her shoulder lightly, looking at her nervously. She stood up, and without turning back, she thrust a sack full of photos towards Ruka. Ruka stared at her blankly as he caught the photos. She climbed onto her scooter and drove off, leaving him in a daze.

"Hotaru…"

Mikan woke up the next day, finding herself perfectly positioned in Natsume's arms. Their faces were inches apart, it was the first time she had seen Natsume at such a close distance. His eyes were closed, emitting a different aura than normal. He looked so… innocent.

Mikan smiled. Innocent huh. Wait till he wakes up.

"Polka…Dots…"

Mikan stared at him in disbelief. He was sleep talking.

"You are SUCH a pervert," she muttered, getting out of bed. This was getting ridiculous – now he was calling her Polka Dots in his sleep?

Mikan decided to cook breakfast for Natsume before she left. She took a frying pan from the cabinet and put it on a stove, getting some eggs from the refrigerator. As she lighted the stove, her slim waist was held by a pair of arms from behind, as Natsume rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Hey little girl."

"Hey pervert," said Mikan flatly, and continued to fry her eggs, ignoring Natsume. Natsume let go and yawned, walking towards the breakfast table.

Mikan finished cooking and set two plates of breakfast on the table and sat down with him. Natsume blinked at his breakfast. A plate of salad!? He glanced at Mikan's plate, which was full of bacon, eggs and sausages.

"What have I done to deserve this?" he demanded.

"Deserve what?" said Mikan nonchalantly, and continued to eat her rich breakfast.

"This," he gestured to the plate of miserable food in front of him coolly.

"What's wrong with your breakfast?"

The breakfast in front of her burned into flames instantly. Mikan stared at him with a oh-no-you-did-not-just-do-that look, and Natsume merely smirked at her.

"Do NOT play dumb with me, Polka Dots."

"WILL YOU STOP CALLING ME THAT!?" Mikan finally lost her temper, standing up and glaring at him furiously, "I can't believe you call me Polka Dots even in your sleep!"

"You should be lucky I was dreaming about you," Natsume shrugged as Mikan got more frustrated by the moment.

"Ugh!" Mikan let out an exasperated sigh and walked towards the door.

"Oi. Where do you think you're going?"

"I don't want to be late for class."

Natsume stood up and caught her wrist, "You won't be late."

"And why not? It's already 8!" Mikan snapped back.

"Because you're not going anywhere today," Natsume announced, and lifted her up as she squealed, struggling to break free.

"Let me go! I can't skip class, Natsume!"

Natsume raised a brow. "Oh really?"

"YES! Now put me down!"

"Get down yourself," Natsume carried her across the room, "And that's if you can."

"Natsume, Ruka will get suspicious," said Mikan quietly.

Silence ensued as he remained expressionless. Ruka…

"Mikan," said Natsume, putting her down, and sitting on the bed. Mikan sat beside him. She knew it was serious this time because he was calling her name.

"I'm… sorry."

"Huh?"

"You'll have to go back to Ruka," Natsume looked away, "I'm sorry… I couldn't control myself."

Mikan was speechless.

"I rather let you go than letting you look into a darkness you don't have to see."

"Natsume…"

"Go back now… Go back… to Ruka," he said softly, waiting for Mikan to step out of the room, but to his surprise, he found Mikan clinging onto his arm tightly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Baka... Didn't you hear what I said?"

"No..." Mikan shook her head, tightening her grasp on his arm, "I didn't hear a thing."

"You're a bad liar."

"Hah, you're worse."

"Mikan…"

"I don't want to leave you in the darkness… I want to stay with you… forever," whispered Mikan.

Natsume smiled and slowly put his arm around her, "So you've made your choice, huh."

"Yeah," Mikan closed her eyes, "I already made it yesterday."

"Don't regret it, little girl."

Absentees: Mikan Sakura, Natsume Hyuuga, Hotaru Imai.

Ruka stared at the blackboard sighed loudly. Great. My girlfriend, my best friend, and my blackmailer aren't here.

Surprisingly, when he walked into the classroom, the first thing he noticed was the absence of Hotaru Imai. Where is she?

Ruka found himself standing up and walking out of the classroom, heading towards the dormitories.

"Imai?" he knocked on the door softly.

No answer.

He turned away, slightly disappointed. What am I doing? Shouldn't I be looking for Mikan now? Ruka was confused.

Suddenly, he heard the door creak open.

Ruka stepped into Hotaru Imai's room, looking around curiously. She was nowhere to be seen. It was probably another of her gadgets opening the door. Her tidy room was pretty much the size of his room, as they were both three stars students. His gaze fell onto a small lump covered in blankets on the queen-sized bed.

"Imai?" he called out, approaching her bed.

He heard sniffs and coughs.

"Are you alright?" he sat on her bedside, not knowing what to do.

"Yeah," he heard her muffled voice from beneath the blankets.

A loud sniff told him otherwise. Without hesitating, Ruka pulled the blanket away, and found Hotaru curled up on the bed, her violet eyes red from crying. He felt like something hard had just hit him.

"Oi, why are you crying?" asked Ruka angrily. He was beginning to sound like Natsume.

Hotaru avoided his gaze and gave a loud sniff, "None of your business, Nogi."

None of my business? Ruka was enraged by those words. It was a fact, but he just could not accept it.

"Fine," he got up slowly and walked towards the door.

Suddenly, he felt someone hugging him from behind. Hotaru buried her head in his shoulders, sobbing.

"Don't go, or I'll sell those pictures of you and Mikan…"

Ruka smiled, not moving an inch. She didn't have to blackmail me for this…