Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice belongs to Tachibana Higuchi.

A/N: Long chapter ahead. No further ado. Read on. ^^

CHAPTER TEN: REALITY CRASHES IN

Natsume sat down the hospital bed, while Mikan pulled a stool closer to the bed and sat down as well. An awkward moment of silence fleeted across them, but neither moved nor tried to break it. Natsume continued to stare at Mikan, while she kept her eyes on her hands placed on her lap. She couldn't bring herself to start…if she met his thoughtful bloodshot eyes.

She was scared. She thought she had all the courage and strength she needed—but nevertheless, she was afraid. Afraid to do it, afraid to make a mistake, afraid that Natsume would forget about her despite his assurance that he wouldn't—

Mikan felt a warm hand touch hers, squeezing it tight. Her heart stopped for an instant as her gaze landed on gentle crimson pools. Orbs that pledged encouragement… and love.

"Mikan," Natsume muttered softly, loud for only her to hear. "Everything will be alright," he reassured, giving her hand a tender grip.

She felt her eyes glisten with tears, but before they could fall, she closed her eyes and breathed in. 'Yes, everything's going to be alright,' she chanted to herself, breathing out and in once more.

She felt warm, soft lips on hers—comforting, moving her wavering heart. She savored the kiss, answering, as if saying 'thank you'—the message slowly but surely being conveyed between them... in a sweet brush of their lips.

He pulled away, but kept the close gap between them, and whispered. "I'll be back within a week," he emphasized, obviously pertaining to the recovery of his memories. She didn't need to ask how he was going to do it. The memory box, of course.

When Mikan kept silent, Natsume tugged on the ring on her little finger with his. "Until then, be strong. I will remember," he said, stressing his words, determination in his voice.

Mikan slowly nodded and smiled her genuine smile. She gave Natsume a short peck on the lips and stood up from the chair. He just followed her every single movement with his gaze. She went over to the side table, picked up a small pouch, and started shuffling through its contents. She pulled out a middle-sized brown lacquered box and slowly tread back to the stool facing where he sat.

She opened the box and took out a purplish alice stone—the Amplification Alice, he recognized. Mikan nodded when she saw him give a knowing stare at the stone. She placed the empty box beside Natsume on the bed.

"I'm going to keep your Alice Stone here after the extraction," she muttered, referring to the box, as she hanged the Amplification alice stone necklace on her neck.

Natsume watched her as she placed the necklace near her chest, when he remembered something. He clutched the necklaces carefully situated near his own chest. One holding the Healing stone given by his mother and the Teleportation stone entrusted to him by Yuka. The other one was Mikan's Nullification Stone necklace—the one she gave him before for the Alice Stone Exchange ritual.

"I'll—" Natsume started, "—keep it," he continued, but was startled to hear Mikan say the same thing simultaneously. The brunette smiled at him. "Yeah…You might not be able to use it anymore, but…keep it," she said, the sunny smile still on her face.

He nodded thoughtfully. The stones—his mother, Yuka, and Mikan's—were proof of the promises he was keeping, after all. A promise to protect, a promise to love.

"You want to do it sitting or lying down?" Mikan asked, oblivious to the weird double-meaning her question held. Natsume shot an incredulous look at her, stifling a low chuckle when he saw she, of course, didn't mean that at all.

"What?" the brunette asked, curious as to why Natsume started laughing all of a sudden. Natsume just shrugged and whispered, "Stupid as ever", though Mikan didn't hear it and just continued to stare at him disbelievingly.

Ignoring his amusement over the matter, he replied. "You're not going to do some surgical operation on me anyway, so let's just sit," he grumbled, but quickly continued when he thought of something. "—Or, am I going to lose consciousness or whatever after?"

Mikan scratched her head. "Y-yeah, well… I think so. Actually, I think it would hurt for a bit along the way, but nothing you can't stand, I guess," she explained.

Natsume shrugged. "Well, I guess so. Anyway, I don't want to lie down, so… y'know, maybe—I'll just lean on your shoulder while you do it, Polka," he said, quite embarrassed for suggesting something cheesy. "Just lie me down as soon as I faint or whatever," he continued, still averting his gaze.

The brunette giggled. "Sure, Natsume."

Natsume looked at her, expecting she would say something more, but when she didn't and when their eyes locked on each other—another long solemn silence enveloped them. Each one of them was hesitant—knowing that they were left now with no choice but to start.

Not wanting to make things harder for his girlfriend, Natsume reached out and pulled Mikan towards him, enveloping her petite frame into a tight embrace.

"I love you," he whispered sincerely. He felt Mikan nod her head and answer with the same words, her voice a bit shaky. He gave her back a soft tap of assurance and slowly pulled away. When their gazes locked, Mikan smiled, and grabbed Natsume's left hand—the promise rings side by side once again.

Understanding she was prepared to start, he leaned over and rested his head on her left shoulder. He closed his eyes and inhaled her strawberry scent—savoring it, letting it whirl around his system, instilling it in his mind. He felt her squeeze his hand tight.

"Keep your eyes closed and don't move," he heard Mikan murmur, readiness on her voice. He softly nodded, closing his eyes. She placed her right hand on her chest, on the Amplification stone, and closed her eyes as well.

Natsume felt warm. He could feel the soft tinges of Mikan's Stealing Alice work its way through his system, aiming for the core—the source—of his Fire Alice. The first few moments felt the same with when you were injected with some heavy dose of medicine—Natsume was aware of every gush of Mikan's power penetrating his body, searching…searching for his own power. The sensation continued for a lengthy while—he was starting to grow warmer and warmer every second, but he didn't dare to move an inch. He softly breathed in and out—Mikan's strawberry scent filling his senses, mixing with the odd sensation his body was having due to his Alice extraction. It was bitter-sweet, sending dozens of unidentified twinges on his head.

Mikan, on the other hand, concentrated hard on finding the core of Natsume's alice, her not-so experienced Stealing Alice being supported by Tono-senpai's Amplification alice. She could feel the huge surges of her power filling Natsume's whole system—each corner and part of his body left unexplored by the stream of tinges from her own alice. And then she found it.

Then there was a sudden pang of pain, making Natsume jerk for a bit. He felt Mikan stiffen when he did that, but his awareness of her actions was further blurred when a hail of pricks and throbs started to overwhelm his whole body. Natsume had to breathe in a huge amount of air when he felt a certain part near his heart started to cramp. At the corner of his still sane thoughts, he could hear Mikan starting to pant. He tried hard to ignore the pain engulfing him—just like he used to…after missions, when he came home all injured.

Mikan nearly whimpered when she felt the pain that Natsume was suppressing. She wasn't aware that going deeper to encounter his alice made her, to an extent, feel the same way he was feeling. She couldn't believe that she was the one causing him this kind of pain. But she had no right to stop…they were already near. She concentrated her power nearby his core, sucking the soft and weakening twinges of Natsume's Fire Alice.

Natsume's head started to swirl with dizziness when an unbelievable speed of flashbacks of his whole life started to run through his mind. Children playing. Fireworks. Green fields. Escapes from house to house. Academy people. Ruka. Aoi having a fever. Walls of fire. Burning village. His father crying. Missions. Dead people. Being bullied. Numerous attempts to escape the Academy. Mikan. He shut his eyes harder when the memories cascaded so fast, sending surges of pain in his head. He wanted to see, wanted to keep those memories. More and more flew by, being sucked away. He felt a dark blanket of loneliness as those memories started to slip away from his mind. Mikan. Mikan. Sakura Tree. Class 2B. Christmas Dance. First kiss. Mikan. Sports Festival. Indirect confessions. Mikan. Mikan leaving the Academy, telling him she loved him. Mikan. Mikan…!

Mikan felt her tears flow from her closed eyes. She saw every single bit of it… everything. His memories. Everything. One by one, being sucked by her powers, like a black hole, slipping away from his system. She cried as she saw for herself Natsume's dark and lonely life before… cried when she saw herself. When she saw how he looked at her in a special way, all along, since they were 10. Her Stealing Alice continued to surge streams of power inside Natsume, taking every particle of his Fire Alice, taking his memories, taking them all. She felt afraid. She couldn't stop her power anymore, it was emptying Natsume slowly of everything he had—sucking his and their important memories. More tears welled from her eyes when she felt his alice essence starting to become bare. The end was near. But, she had to do something, at least…try something to keep some of the memories. She didn't want to be forgotten.

Natsume was surprised when a familiar voice rang inside his head. Natsume. Natsume… It's coming to an end… I'm sorry… Natsume. Natsume… He desperately tried to answer but it seems like Mikan couldn't hear him. She continued to call out his name. Natsume… Natsume. I'm sorry. I love you… I love you, I don't want you to forget about me. Please… Please, remember. Please remember me—

He was about to shout so she could hear, shout that he will and that he loves her too… but before he could, darkness engulfed his whole system.

The last thing he felt was…drops of tears falling on his hand on Mikan's lap.

***

Mikan carefully laid Natsume down on the bed, gently situating his head properly on the pillow. She put his hands on each of his side, and pulled a blanket over him, stopping just right before his chest. Her intent gaze never kept off him—on his peaceful facial features, his even breathing, some of his messy raven locks falling on his face. He looked like he was sleeping. Peacefully.

She lifelessly sat on the stool, pulling it near the bed, allowing herself to stay with him a little more while, to look at him this close. She stared at him, her tears threatening to flow once more. She held his hand with her free hand—the other gripping a huge crimson stone tight.

"You're safe now, Natsume…" she wordlessly said, tears starting to roll from her eyes. "Your life is not in danger anymore. You'll be out of this academy, you'll be free…you'll be with your family, and start living a normal life…" she continued, loneliness engulfing her. She should be happy, but she was undeniably scared. Afraid that he might not remember after all. That this would be the end of them.

However, remembering his words to her before, she gathered all her strength to wipe her tears away and stop crying.

"Until then, be strong. I will remember."

Mikan nodded and stifled an empty laugh at herself for being stupid and a coward. He promised. He wouldn't break it. He will remember. Countless times, he assured her of that. And he was determined to be able to remember within a week. That would be short…right? She just needed to be strong. She promised to be. That's why there's no use to cry, she scolded herself, suddenly feeling rejuvenated after thinking that she would only need to wait a week for him to remember. Then everything will be alright. Just like he promised.

She cast a short glance on him once more before standing up. She grabbed the brown box on the bed and put Natsume's Life Force Alice Stone inside, then covered it. She went over to the side table and put it inside her small pouch, in exchange, taking out a black cellular phone.

According to directions, after the Alice extraction, she must call her Uncle Kazu to report. After that they will give Natsume time to rest, and when he wakes up, he will be taken by his family outside of the academy through the main gate.

She looked at the slumbering raven-haired man she loved. She was still unsure whether or not she could send him off later when he goes home. She too was still hesitant to call the High School Principal right now, knowing she would have to leave soon after. But, she thought, they might think something went wrong with the extraction if she took too long to report.

She decided to call now. After walking a good distance away from Natsume's bed, Mikan started pressing some buttons. A ring from the other line was heard.

"Yes, Mikan," Principal Kazu's baritone voice came in the line. Mikan inhaled and exhaled before speaking.

"It's done," she said briefly, glancing at Natsume. "And…he's safe now."

She heard her uncle sigh in relief. "I will tell the good news to the Hyuuga family and the Elementary and Middle School principals."

"Please do," she answered.

"Thank you very much for your hard work, Mikan. You did great," Kazu said, his tone appreciative. He continued. "We will be there in a couple of minutes."

Mikan nodded despite being on the phone. "Yes, Uncle."

She hanged up and faced the direction where Natsume was sleeping. She almost dropped the cellphone at what she saw.

Natsume's head was moving a bit from side to side, his face scrunched up with pain, as he let out groans. Mikan froze. Did something go wrong!? she nervously asked herself as she frantically ran towards him.

"Natsume?" she called out, gripping his hand tight. More groans from him, beads of sweat forming on his face.

"Natsume?" Mikan called once more, leaning over and touching his forehead if he had fever or what. None.

His groaning stopped as soon as she touched him. His uneven breathing started to calm down too, making Mikan sigh in relief. She sat down beside him, still clutching his hand.

Mikan stared at him, still pondering why he suddenly started groaning in pain like that, when the next thing that happened caught her totally off guard.

Natsume slowly opened his eyes. As he did, Mikan's eyes started to widen in surprise, making her stand up, her hand still holding his. It was impossible. Recovering from the extraction in less than an hour.

"N-Natsu…me…" she whispered as she kept staring at him when he fully opened his eyes. Natsume kept looking at the ceiling for a moment, regaining his senses.

He looked around—the ceiling, white walls, the window on the far side of the room, the side table beside him having only a small pouch on top of it. When his eyes landed on the only person inside with him—a brunette, staring in disbelief and concern at him—he felt a sudden pang on his head. He squinted in pain, and was about to put his hand above his forehead, when he felt an alien force holding it back. He ignored the twinge in his head and tried his best to open his eyes once more.

Mikan was about to approach him and ask if he was alright when she saw pain write all over his face, when she saw his crimson orbs land on his hand still being held by her. She quickly released it when realization hit her.

She was about to apologize when his next words struck her speechless.

"Who are you?"

***

Mikan felt her face go pale and her whole body drain with energy when those three words sunk in.

"Who are you?," Natsume said. His eyes were empty of all recognition of her. Of the affection he had for her just hours ago.

She felt her knees buckle, making her hold on to the chair she was sitting at before, for support. He had forgotten. Natsume forgot her. She knew this should be expected, but when faced with the reality of it—all her strength and hopes crumbled. He didn't recognize her anymore. Tears started to stream down from her hazel orbs.

Natsume's eyes widened when he saw the brunette start to cry. He was already shocked when he saw her go pale and stagger backwards after he spoke, but when she started to cry, he felt confused…and awful. 'What did I do?' he asked himself, sure that his tone when he asked her who she was, was rude or anything at all.

Or… Did she cry because he asked her who she was?

Natsume tried his best to sit up, reaching out to her. The girl in front of him continued to back away, crying a waterfall of tears, still staring at him incredulously. But there was one thing in her eyes that striked him hard in the chest—that pain she held in those beautiful hazel orbs.

Hazel?

The thought striked him too, but it sent another painful pang in his head. He squinted again, losing sight of the tearful hazel eyes that stared back at him.

He instinctively opened his eyes once more when he heard footsteps. Natsume saw the brunette ran towards the side table, grabbed the pouch, and ran away from him towards the door.

"H-hey…!" he called out, ignoring the pouch she took off with, but called out because he wanted her to stay.

'Why?' he asked himself, utterly confused with what's happening. And the unexplainable feeling he was having.

Before the door made its way home, he caught a final glance at the girl's leaving form. He noticed the glistening of tears fly by when she ran away, making his heart clench at the sight.

And without noticing it and not knowing how, when or why—he felt a single tear roll down on his cheek.

***

Mikan ran as fast as she could, not caring if doctors, nurses, and patients saw her crying hard as she ran away. She just had to get out fast from there. She felt like dying.

"Who are you?"

Natsume's words still rang in her head, again and again, relentless. She tried to get her out of her mind because the memory just caused more tears, but she damn couldn't.

She fell on her butt when she crashed hard with something… or rather, someone.

"Mikan-chan!" a girly voice called out her name. Aoi's.

The brunette quickly wiped her tears away and accepted the hand offered by someone--probably the one whom she bumped--so she could stand up. She dusted her skirt and looked at the people in front of her, aware that there were still traces of tears in her face.

Aoi, Natsume's dad, her Uncle Kazu were surprised to see how Mikan looked. No one was able to speak, until Mikan's tears started to well up again.

"Mikan…" Principal Kazu voiced, putting a hand on top of her shoulder. He knew. He could guess what must've happened, why she was like that. It was one of the bitter expected things that had to come with this.

"E-excuse me, Uncle, I… have to go," Mikan said in a tiny voice and bowed at the three people standing on front of her. "N-Natsume's…in there, he's okay," she added, then tried unsuccessfully to stop her tears from flowing.

"Mikan-chan…" Aoi muttered, hurt at what she was seeing. She had at least an idea of what could've happened why her onee-chan was crying, but still, she didn't want to see her like that.

"Take care of Natsume…for me," Mikan grumbled, the statement directed to both Hyuuga father and daughter, though she didn't dare meet their gazes at all. She was staring at the ground all the time.

With that said, the brunette bowed once more and started running away from them. Aoi called out her name once more, but her dad stopped her, giving her a look saying "Let her be for now." The three followed Mikan's retreating form with worried gazes.

***

Natsume glanced around and searched for a certain girl that had no doubt caught his attention—yet after doing so for a couple of times already, he was disappointed that she wasn't there.

He heaved out a sigh as he recalled the crying brunette he had encountered the moment he regained his senses. He had so many questions to ask her, and he wanted to see him once more before he leaves.

Yes, he was still confused even after some Principal Yukihara started to explain to him that he had an operation which caused him to lose memories, and that was why he only remembered his father and his sister. His dad told him that he was studying in this academy, but because of his current condition, his dad said that he had to come home for the meantime, so he could recover his memories naturally.

Natsume really didn't care to bother with the details, like what kind of operation he had and such. He was preoccupied with that brunette. After seeing her reaction and after she ran away, he couldn't take her mind off her. And that mysterious tear that came from his own eyes. He didn't recall ever having cried again after his mother's death…so it really bugged him that he ended up crying without knowing why—though he had a strong hunch that the brunette had something to do with it.

Mikan, on the other hand, was silently watching the Hyuuga family from afar. She hid behind a huge oak tree not several feet away from where the three were standing. She couldn't bring herself to show herself to Natsume after what happened, knowing she would just break down and cry again. She didn't want to confuse him any longer. It was expected that he wouldn't remember her, but—

She suddenly felt tears flowing from her eyes once more. She had cried much already before she came here, but here they were again—streaming down relentlessly. Mikan buried her tearful face on her hands and cried hard. She felt so sad knowing that Natsume was leaving. She didn't know when she would see him again…or if she ever will.

"Mikan-nee," a low baritone voice came from behind, startling her. She looked back to see the owner of the voice, traces of tears still evident from her face.

Youichi swiftly strode over to her. He seemed to have had problems lately with his Age-Changing Alice, thus he was stuck with his 14-year old version. He looked at her with unwavering olive orbs.

Mikan stared at him and asked, "W-why are you—"

"Because I know you would be crying," the gray-haired guy answered. He stood beside Mikan and reached out to her, pulling her close to him. Mikan, suddenly felt the need to be comforted, didn't move or pull away, instead, she clutched on Youichi's uniform and cried. The spirit manipulator stroke her head and let her cry away.

"Don't be so sad, Mikan-nee," he whispered, his fingers softly running through Mikan's auburn locks. "It will just be a week," he said, "—then Natsume-nii will remember you again."

Youichi felt her nod against his chest, though, still crying. He sighed and hugged her completely, letting her pour her emotions on him. It was the least he can do for his oneechan that he adored the most.

"Let's go," Natsume's dad said, opening the door of the black limousine in front of them. Aoi explained that the car for them to go home was going to be provided by the academy since Natsume might still feel dizzy after just recovering.

Natsume took a final gaze around, and when he didn't see any trace of the girl, he finally gave up and just ignored the millions of questions in his head. He went inside the car and sat on the far side, near the window. Aoi and his dad followed soon after. When they were all seated, the driver of the car shut the doors and walked over to the driver's seat. Natsume stared at the woods around the area they were at, wondering how huge this school was.

The machine of the car ignited, being the only audible thing around the silent Hyuuga family. Aoi was unnaturally silent too, her arms hugging a middle-sized bag that was shaped like a box. The girl was thoughtfully looking outside, just like him. His dad was incredibly silent too.

Natsume shrugged and returned gazing outside—when a specific sight caught his breath.

A silhouette was not too far away from where the car was, and he was sure—that the silhouette belonged to the brunette girl he was looking for all along. His eyes widened when he realized how near she actually was, and how he wasn't able to notice her there.

"M-Mi—" he whispered, trying to call out to her, but he stopped when he realized what he just blurted.

'Mi—'? He didn't know the girl's name. And he was sure that he wasn't about to call out 'Miss'. Then why the hell would he accidentally utter 'Mi—'?

The car started to move away from the spot they were at, away from the view of the girl that caught his attention. He strained to look at her silhouette very well, and just before the car started to move faster away, what he saw made his breath stop.

Silhouettes.

She was not alone.

And she was in the arms of a man.

A/N: Spent an all-nighter for this. *faints*

Mikan: The poor author~ Well, she made me cry the whole chapter anyway .

Natsume: And let me see you hug another man too, tch.

Author: *wakes up again* I'm cruel coz I'm broken-hearted too :p Anyway, REVIEWS PLEASE!!!!