Thank you Mican, -forsaken-girl-, glenda23, ayaxrei fan143, may520, cupidsangel, XrandomgirlX, -KateDominiqueXalice-, Nanotiko08, and tinkerbellie for reviewing:) -forsaken-girl-, you DO have a brain. I'm sure your stories are much better than mine :) Don't discourage yourself, be confident! glenda 23, they're not going around hugging each other in the academy, the Sakura tree is supposed to be their secret meeting place :) -KateDominiqueXalice-, of course we can be friends. I look forward to that. Once again, THANK YOU EVERYONE! I'm so happy :D

CHAPTER 7

"Mikan Sakura, you are now officially Natsume's mission partner," commanded Persona, "This is the second time the academy accepted a member without having to undergo proper training. You will prove yourself, if you want to stay by my kuro neko's side."

Mikan glared at him and answered icily, "Of course."

Persona smirked at her and continued, "Both of you will start tonight. Your first mission together, is to fetch a girl back to the academy. This girl has a powerful Alice, and that means the Anti Alice Organization are eyeing her too," Persona slipped a small envelope containing the details of the mission into Natsume's pocket, "Natsume, you are excused from all classes today to practice with Mikan."

Natsume nodded curtly and lifted Mikan up, jumping up onto the Sakura tree branches swiftly, and disappeared into the Northern Forest.

"Natsume, let me down!" Mikan complained, "I have to learn how to jump too!"

Natsume raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you want me to let you down? Right here?" he smirked.

Mikan looked down and felt dizzy straightaway. She hadn't realized that Natsume had jumped so high up.

"Alright, if you say so," Natsume grinned and loosened his grip just enough to scare her. Mikan screamed and clung onto his neck for her dear life, "Don't! Don't let go…" She whimpered loudly, as Natsume frowned slightly. He didn't mean to go too far.

Natsume rolled his eyes. That idiot was clinging to him desperately, almost breaking his neck. He sighed. Did she really think that he would actually do that to her?

Natsume held her as tightly as he could and whispered, "Baka, you should know that I'll never let go."

Realizing that Natsume was just playing with her, Mikan buried her head into his shoulders, her cheeks flushed.

"Natsume, you baka," she murmured.

Natsume laughed lightly and ran his fingers into her silky auburn hair, "You're the only baka here."

He descended a few branches and landed onto the ground neatly. Mikan lifted her head up and glanced at the green surroundings, letting out a big sigh of relief. They were finally on land.

"We'd better start your training now," said Natsume, "And since you looked so forward to jumping onto trees, we'll start with that."

Mikan gulped. She wasn't really looking forward to that after all.

"Um, Natsume… We could start with something else."

"Alright. I'll train your agility."

Mikan nodded excitedly as Natsume said, "Dodge my attacks."

He lunged at her with tremendous speed, causing her to step back in alarm. She barely dodged his fist as he brushed past her. He stopped, turning back to look at her. His face was expressionless.

"You've got to be much faster," he said, lunging at her for the second time.

Ruka sat down and held his head, deeply frustrated. What have I done? I screwed everything up.

"I've made you fall in love with me, Ruka," said Hotaru smugly. Ruka looked down, trying to hide his blush.

"How do you know?"

"Because I feel the same way," she tiptoed and gave him a peck on his lips. Ruka was taken aback by the warm kiss, but he felt exhilarated nevertheless.

"Ruka…" Hotaru murmured as she held his waist tightly. A thought suddenly popped out in his mind. Mikan… How could I be so irresponsible?

He found himself pushing her away gently, meeting her puzzled eyes.

"Imai… What about Mikan?"

Hotaru flinched. She turned away and said coldly, "So that's it, isn't it? It's all Mikan that matters."

Ruka was taken aback by her words.

"Imai, I-"

"Ruka."

"Yes?"

"Just go," She smiled weakly at him, and ushered him outside her room muttering, "Sorry for today," and slammed the door shut.

Ruka could've sworn that he heard a sob before she closed the door.


Mikan dropped onto her knees, panting hard. They had trained for a few hours continuously, and she was exhausted. Her hands and legs were full of cuts and bruises, and she was dripping with sweat. Natsume walked towards her and knelt down, cupping her chin.

"Are you alright?" he said anxiously.

Mikan nodded, still panting.

"I'm sorry," Natsume touched her pale cheek gently and winced as he saw a thin cut across it.

He'd been training Mikan by attacking her and challenging her in a combat, without using their Alice. Mikan earned an amount of wounds, but she had improved and acquired new skills in the process.

Mikan smiled, "It's not your fault, you had to train me."

He sat down beside her and put an arm around her neck, fishing the envelope that Persona slipped in from his pocket.

"We have to take a look at the mission details before going," he explained as Mikan nodded.

He tore the envelope open and retrieved a small note from inside. A small map had been inserted into the envelope with the note.

Mission 983:

Target: Yui Hana, 16 years old.

Description: Shoulder-length black hair, blue eyes, wears a black shirt and black miniskirt.

Alice: Manipulating air.

Situation: Yui Hana has been kidnapped. Bring her back to the academy.

Location: Room 85, Makino Mansion.

Dispose of this note after reading.

Natsume crumpled the note in his hand and burnt it to ashes. He stood up and looked down at Mikan, "We'll go back and rest before leaving. Can you get up?"

Mikan shook her head and stuck her tongue out at him playfully, refusing to budge. Natsume smirked and lifted her up as she squealed loudly, struggling to get down. He quickly jumped onto a tree branch, causing her to clutch his arm tightly in fear.

Just then, they remembered something.

"Um, Natsume…"

"Crap."

"You forgot to teach me how to jump," Mikan laughed.

"Never mind, I'll just carry you around like this," Natsume smirked devilishly as Mikan giggled.

"I love you, Natsume." She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You already know the answer," said Natsume softly.

"Natsume…" She lay on the ground, her shallow breathing could be heard. She was surrounded by a pool of crimson liquid and her whole body was covered by blood. She smiled weakly at him, her eyes shutting slowly.

"Nat…sume…" she whispered, "We did it… Our first mission… Together…" Her voice faded as she stared at him helplessly, her body going cold and numb.

Natsume Hyuuga's eyes shot open quickly as he lay still, gasping. A bead of cold sweat trickled down his cheek, his heart racing.

Mikan…

He turned his head slowly, only to find himself staring at her sleeping face. He'd never felt so relieved in his life.

It was just a dream- No, a nightmare.

The thought of losing Mikan was unbearable. He began to feel uneasy as time slipped past, and unknowingly, it was soon time for the mission.

The alarm clock managed to ring once and wake Mikan up before Natsume disintegrated it into ashes.

"Huh?" Her eyes fluttered open, as she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"It's… time for the mission," said Natsume expressionlessly.

"Oh…" said Mikan, slightly excited, "Natsume, what do we have to wear?"

"Baka… Why are you so excited?" grumbled Natsume, but deep down, he knew that Mikan was just using her trademark smile to hide her fear and nervousness.

Two loud door knocks were heard before Mikan could answer. They heard a sizzling noise as the door knob began to shrink into dust slowly. The door was pushed open and Persona stepped in.

"Damn, you've got to stop doing that," muttered Mikan under her breath. She was always interrupted by him whenever she talked to Natsume.

"I forgot to give you this," said Persona, handing a silver bracelet to Mikan as she accepted it in surprise, "That is an Alice controlling device. You are to put this on her and bring her back safe and sound."

"Now go." He commanded.

The mission officially started.