Thank you to all those who reviewed!

Note to XKasumiX-san: Gomen-nasai!! I'm really sorry for the short chapter! I'll try my best from now on! ;3

Anyway, ENJOY!

Mikan's POV

I woke up to find myself in a pile of hay.

That would make sense, because I fell asleep in a pile of hay, right?

No.

Why?

Because it wasn't the same pile of hay. I know, because the pile of hay I slept in wasn't in a warm shed. Nor was it next to neighing horses who apparently thought a certain depressed girl wouldn't mind if they start playing 'Hot Potato' with her left shoe.

I wrestled my shoe back from a bay horse when the door to the wooden shed opened. I must have been a sight. A horse and a middle-school student fighting over a black slipper.

Thank goodness it was only Ruka.

"… Mikan-san…?" Ruka stammered, holding a bucket of carrots.

"Heh…Hehe…" I nervously laughed and loosened my grip on the shoe. The bay horse happily accepted the ripped footwear and turned back to his horse-buddies to resume their game of 'Hot Potato'. I stared at my feet, a black shoe and a white sock.

"This," Ruka pulled the bag of performance-enhancing carrots from his pocket, "must be yours. I think you dropped it." He handed it to me.

Clearly embarrassed, I took the bag of carrots and clutched it in my hand as Ruka proceeded to a nearby horse. All the horses turned their attention to their care-taker and abandoned my shoe. I tiptoed towards it, picked it up, and then decided to drop it again.

Not knowing what to do, I diverted my attention to Ruka. He was a good-looking and gentle guy. He has learned to control his Alice better since we were ten, so instead of going wild and crazy, he fed the horses with an affectionate and caring look in his eyes. He was slightly smiling, and I couldn't help but smile at the sight.

I walked towards him and bent down next to him. I took out a carrot stick from my carrot bag and fed it to the bay horse I was fighting with earlier.

"So what happened?" Ruka asked, continuing to feed the horses.

I shook my head.

"I found you by a tree, and you were sleeping so soundly I didn't want to wake you up. It was getting chilly, too, you know." Ruka said, still feeding the horses.

I took another carrot stick and fed it to another gray horse, while I replied, "I must have been heavy. Gomen."

"Not really. Did Natsume do anything again?"

I blushed. Ruka was so far the only person keen enough to figure out my secret.

"No… It's no one, really… I'm just…just… in a stage, I guess."

"Are you bothered about what happened in the classroom today?"

"A bit…"

"Are you trying to ask him to the cruise?"

I nodded, then suddenly shook my head.

"Hotaru."

He understood, "I see."

Then, I suddenly remembered.

"Ne, Ruka, are you going to the cruise with anybody?"

He raised his eyebrows.

"No… are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

I nodded and grinned.

"Will you go to the cruise with me?"

Ruka's POV

Did I hear that correctly?

Why, Kami-sama?

Why must you make my ex-crush ask me out after I gave up on her?!

Kami-sama, do you have any idea how hard this is for me here?

TERMINATE! TERMINATE!

Mikan likes Natsume. She's just asking me because Natsume's going with Hotaru. Get that straight, Ruka.

I turned my attention back to Mikan.

"Sure… I'll go."

Her expression lightened up, and she smiled.

"Arigatou, Ruka!"

She got up and walked out of the barn house.

I gulped as I watched her retreating figure. I could feel myself blushing.

I DO NOT LIKE HER ANYMORE. I DO NOT LIKE HER ANYMORE. I DO NOT LIKE HER ANYMORE. I DO NOT LIKE HER.

…

Get it together, Ruka. SHE'S YOUR FRIEND. SHE ONLY THINKS OF YOU AS A FRIEND, RUKA.

Ugh, I give up.

Mikan's POV

I happily pranced out of shed, not caring that I didn't have a shoe on… My heart still hurt, but I could live… As they say, you get more beautiful when you get rejected.

I took out the Flying Alice Stone and started out for the girls' dormitory.

"SAKURA-OJOU-SAMA!! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SHOE?!" Takahashi, the robot-care-taker of the dorm greeted me.

"Heh… Well, you see…"

Natsume's POV

"… highly confidential, Imai. You got it?"

"…approved. The cost, Hyuuga, is…"

"You're not really going to go to the cruise with me, you're just going to…"

"I'll go to the cruise, Hyuuga, but the cost is…"

Mikan's POV

After Takahashi sorted out another shoe for me, she kicked me out of the dorm for 3 hours as a punishment.

I wandered around aimlessly at the vicinity of the girls' dormitory when I heard voices… I quieted down and tiptoed to the source of the voices.

Not that I meant to eavesdrop… I mean, if I had known what I was going to hear earlier, I would have ran to the other side of the dorm… But I heard it:

"…go to the cruise with me…" Natsume's distinct, cold voice said.

"I'll go to the cruise, Hyuuga, but the cost is…" Hotaru's voice replied.

Poor Ruka-pyon~ xDDD