Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of the characters. Higuchi Tachibana does!

Hey guys! I just finally got around to finishing the manga and I am outraged with Hotaru's ending. So don't worry, Hotaru is going to have a bigger part in this story! But other than that, mikan and natsumeeeeee omggg. I've been really busy with school lately too, but I'll try my best to update more often.

Anyways, sorry if this kinda drags on. I really hope you enjoy it! Please review it! It'd make my day and also provide me motivation to update faster! hehe

Natsume's POV

That bastard is taking out his gun. Is he really going to—

The gun fired, and a loud, booming "bang" sounded. My eyes widened with horror when I realized the gun was aimed at Mikan. I threw myself in front of her, slamming her against the tree trunk, using the back of my body to shield her.

I felt a sharp pain below my shoulder, like fire was penetrating my body- every fiber in my being shattering and ripping apart. I fell forward, leaning on Mikan to hold myself up. There was a burning sensation in my back and it took every effort to suppress my agony and pain.

Mikan looked like she was going ballistic. I cupped her mouth to stop her from making any sound. She stared at me, eyes flaring with anger and shock and revulsion. I waited until I was sure the guards were gone and uncovered her mouth.

"Na… Nats-s-sume…" she whispered, a tear dropping down her cheek, "I… W-We need to get you to the hospital. W-We n-need to get you to the h-h-hospital now." With shaky hands, she reached for her phone, but I stopped her.

"We can't do that," I winced in pain, "They'll question us. What would a teenager be doing with a bullet wound?"

"I-I don't care!" she yelled, stifling back her tears. "Why did you do that?" she blubbered, "I would've been fine!" She tore off the part of the tuxedo that was drenched in blood by my wound and tightly wrapped a layer from the fabric of her dress around my shoulder. She pressed hard against the wound, applying pressure on it to control the bleeding.

"Shut up, I'm not dying. I wouldn't have been able to sleep at night if you got hurt and I could've done something about it. I would've done this for anyone, so stop worrying about it. We have to head back to the ball before they notice that we're missing, so let's go. I'll clean this up in the bathroom, so don't worry. Let's hurry before the guards come out here." It took all my energy to talk and my breathing was slowly shortening.

She nodded, "S-Stop talking already! Just hold on to me. No way I'm letting you walk by yourself until we get back to the ball." She forced me onto her back. I was lying limply over her shoulder.

She climbed down the tree quickly with me hanging on her back.

She jumped off the last couple of feet from the tree onto the ground and landed lightly on her feet. She sprinted as fast as she could to the window of the girls' bathroom, making sure that I was in a steady position on her back.

She went into the biggest stall in the bathroom and set me down on the toilet. I clenched my teeth, suppressing all my urges to scream, when she took off my top.

I placed my hand on the wound, feeling how deep it was.

"It's not too bad," I mumbled, "It didn't go down that deep." I looked at my hands; they were covered with crimson red blood. "Wait, someone's coming."

The bathroom floor is covered with blood… It does help that this is a girls' bathroom.

I looked at the ground outside of the stall and saw a pair of purple sandals. Whoever it was, had stopped their feet.

Mikan looked at me apprehensively. The girl outside the stall reached under, placed a bag full of items in our stall, and walked out.

"Natsume…" she began, "That was Hotaru. Those shoes… I'm sure of it."

Mikan rummaged through the bag. She looked at me, mouth agape. "There's a bandage in here, some antiseptics, a new tuxedo top... and a note." Imai Hotaru? There's always been something off about her.

She read the note. "Dispose of everything in this bag and put it in the trash. I'll come by and pick it up later."

"W-Who is she?" Mikan asked anxiously, "Whatever, we'll deal with that later. Right now—"

I felt my wound again and let out a grunt as I yanked the bullet out of my flesh. I heard a "cling" on the ground as I dropped it. Mikan watched me, horrified and shocked at the same time.

"Stop moving," she finally mustered up, "It's my fault so I'll do it for you." She unraveled the bandages and gently lifted my arm up. She applied the antiseptic and wrapped the bandages around my arm, making sure it was tight and pressed against my skin. "I'm really sorry" she said, "I'm sorry and thank you for saving me. I promise I'll be the one to save you next time."

What's with this idiot? This is more than her hundredth time apologizing.

"Stop apologizing making a big deal out of it," I looked away, "You're annoying. I told you that I would do this for anyone."

She handed me the new garments, but then took it back and decided to help me put it on. She slid my arms through the sleeves and buttoned the shirt up. Her cheeks couldn't have been anymore red. She put the final garment on me and placed all my bloody clothes in the bag. The floor looked like a bloodbath. She grabbed dozens of towels and attempted to wipe it all away, disposing the bloody towels in the toilet. Within a couple of minutes, the floor looked almost spotless. She tossed the

"Can you walk?" she asked, lightly tugging my shoulder. I nodded. The spot below the flank of my right shoulder grew more painful each second.

Mikan's POV

This is all my fault. Why did he do that? Natsume… I'm so worried about his condition. He was sweating so much before and his lips were a pale blue. It's a lot better now, but I'm worried that the infection will spread and his condition will worsen. We need to leave this stupid ball as soon as possible.

I walked behind him, checking for any sign of pain or discomfort. I tensed at his every move, afraid he was going to collapse.

"Baka, I'm not dying," he said, ruffling my hair. It caught me by surprise. I stood there in a daze until I heard the door open and the soft "clangs" of wine glasses and the small chatter between people.

What did he do that for? That was so unexpected. Ugh, he's always doing things at his own pace. I hurriedly wiped away any remaining tears on my eyes and cleared my throat.

Iinchou, Anna, and Hotaru came, asking what we were doing inside the bathroom—more specifically, what Natsume was doing inside the girls' bathroom.

I took a look at Hotaru's shoes. They were the same pair of pretty purple sandals. Who are you, Hotaru? Are you on our side? Why did you help us? I stared at her, hoping to get some type of response, but she just looked away uninterestedly.

"Uuummm… Natsume was in the girls' bathroom because he—"

"We were doing some things together," Natsume answered with a smirk on his face. With his left arm, he pushed me against the wall and leaned in close to my face.

My eyes grew big when I realized what he was saying. "No! No! Nonono! That wasn't what happened! Natsume you baka! You pervert! That wasn't what happened! Believe me! N-N-Natsume you big hentai! Don't get any wrong ideas!" I protested. If he wasn't so badly hurt, I would punch him in the face.

"Then what was he doing in the bathroom with you?" Anna asked, eyeing me down.

"N-Nothing! I promise you guys that it's not what you think!" I wailed desperately, resisting the urge to smack Natsume.

"Don't be so embarrassed," Natsume sneered innocently.

My face was boiling red with embarrassment and anger. "NAT. SU. ME!"

"More importantly, they are gathering everyone up for some unknown reason, to check if everyone is still here," Hotaru said.

Phew! Thank goodness for the subject change. I'm gonna kill that stupid hentai later! And find out who Hotaru is.

The guards tried to make it seem like an insignificant deal—thank the gods or else they would've noticed that Natsume and I were gone for a while.

A guard finally approached us with a clipboard in his hand. "May I ask for your names, please?"

We all answered with our names and the guard excused himself and walked off.

"Looks like it's time for the last dance," Anna sighed, "Tonight went by really fast." The headmaster appeared again.

"I deeply apologize for the inconvenience. We wanted to check that everyone who came tonight was still here and that everyone is enjoying themselves. We are wrapping up the ball with tonight's last dance. Thank you all for coming and I hope to see you at our next event." He raised his tall glass filled with a dark red liquid—Japan's most expensive wine. Hundreds of wine-filled glasses were raised in the air and then the music started again.

Anna went and danced with Iinchou. Hotaru had several guys following her.

I was about to dance with Natsume, when a guy approached me asking for a dance. Before Natsume could speak, I quickly responded. I can't leave Natsume alone in his state.

"I'm really sorry, but I already have someone," I bowed and then turned to Natsume.

"You want to dance with me again, huh?" he smirked. I could tell he was trying to mask away his pain. His lips were slightly blue and his face slightly pale. Of course his condition would be worsening. He needs to go to a hospital.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, idiot," I responded, "I just don't want to leave you alone because it's my fault you're like this"

The sky was dark and filled with hundreds of stars when the ball came to an end. I hurried back to the limo with Natsume.

"Hang in there, Natsume," I squeezed his hand, "I'll call Narumi-sensei as soon as we get back."

His eyes were closed when he nodded. How did he manage to hold up for so long? Natsume… he really is something.

It was past midnight by the time we got back home. Natsume was lying on the couch, cushioned with several pillows and blankets. I turned on the TV and connected it with Narumi-sensei.

The screen lit up and I spotted the familiar blond hair. "Narumi-sensei!" I cried, "N-Natsume… H-He…" Shit, tears are coming out again. "He's injured very badly! He took a bullet for me and he needs help. Narumi-sensei! Please, send help right now!" I blubbered.

"Mikan, calm down," he advised, "Where is he hurt? Where did the bullet go?"

"I-It went through the flank below his shoulder on his back. I wrapped it with bandages and we took the bullet out, but there was a lot of blood loss. Natsume isn't getting any better and his forehead is burning and he looks really pale! Please, send someone over! Please!" I sniffed and try to stop the tears from flowing out. I realized I was deathly afraid for Natsume. "Narumi-sensei! You've got to do something! If it wasn't for me, this wouldn't have happened. Please!"

Narumi-sensei didn't say anything. He looked grave, full of remorse and sadness. "Mikan… I'm sorry. I can't do that. I would like for nothing more than to help Natsume, but I'm afraid I can't."

Suddenly, my tears stopped. "W-What do you mean?" I quietly said. He can't send someone over to… to help Natsume? But he's extremely injured… This is a joke. You're kidding.

"W-Why? Y-You… Natsume's helping you. He's one of your agents. You can't possibly…" My mind was racing with a billion thoughts. "O-Onegai… Narumi-sensei, you have to send help! You have to do something! Onegai! I'm begging you, please save Natsume! I'm begging you!"

"I'll send a bullet wound medical care kit over, but I can't send a person. Don't let him move too much. I'm really sorry, Mikan. Please take care of Natsume. I'm counting on you."

Suddenly, my tears stopped. I was no longer wailing for help because I knew he wouldn't be sending any—I was boiling with rage instead. My voice was cold and shrill as I spoke. "Natsume is one of your agents! I'm not giving you any information until Natsume gets help. I hate you, Narumi-sensei!" I slammed the coffee table with my fists and shut the screen off.

Mikan, get yourself together! I undressed Natsume, taking his top off, being careful not to move him too much. I wrapped some more gauze around his wound, criss-crossing it over his shoulder. I moved quickly, running to get a bucket of cold water and a towel. I wrung the water out and set the cold towel on his forehead. I was about to go grab some more blankets, but Natsume gripped my hand. His eyes were closed, his eyebrows knit together. I kneeled down next to him.

He looks like he's having a nightmare. "M…" he mumbled. M? "Mikan…"

My eyes widened—Natsume's calling my name? I was dumbfounded and found myself staring at him. I tightened my grip around his hand.

Natsume, you really are sugoi. The average person would've been in critical condition right now… maybe even dead… if they were in your position.

My eyelids grew heavy and the last image I saw was of Natsume sleeping peacefully.