Here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I thought about acting out a high level heist mission to acquire Gakuen Alice…but I don't have enough resources, so it's still not mine.

Mikan crept silently down the halls of the city hospital. She'd been here several times in the last couple months, so normally she would have easily known just where to go. But tonight was different. Tonight took her to an unexpected part of the hospital, an area she had not been to before: the Children's Wing. She was baffled as to why the mission would lead her here, and walked past rooms filled with sick children with trepidation tugging her heart.

Her mission goal was the same as it always was: to remove the Alice of a dying person and bring it back to the ESP for his uses. Just like her mother had done before her. But if this Alice user was a child, why weren't they at the academy? She felt a little sick to think she might be stealing the Alice of a dying toddler, someone to young to be in the Academy yet. But then, there were other possibilities. Maybe it was the child of a very influential family, someone who could afford to keep their child out of the Academy's jealous reach.

Mikan continued done the hall, seeking the room number that Persona had informed her that the child would be in. It didn't help her any that she kept getting distracted by thoughts of the conversation she had essentially fled earlier. She hated fighting with Natsume. Why was it they couldn't seem to have a peaceful conversation lately?

She knew she'd hurt his feelings earlier with that comment about him not relying on others. And she knew why it had hurt him so much, too. Because it just wasn't true. She knew better than anyone – except perhaps Ruka – that Natsume did rely on them, heavily. He just wasn't obvious about it. He needed them for emotional support, even when he couldn't bare his soul to them. He was far more fragile and vulnerable than anyone would suspect. She knew that. But then, that was also why she had thought he'd understand. Just because she couldn't tell him something, or wasn't ready to, didn't mean she didn't need him.

She had trusted him when he couldn't talk to her, like after the whole Luna ordeal, when he was still withdrawn. She knew he was just looking out from them, trying to protect them. Why couldn't he give her the same trust and consideration?

Mikan forced herself to focus back on the task at hand and just in time. A nurse was walking around the corner down the hall, making the nightly rounds. Quickly, Mikan ducked into the room next to her and hid behind a curtain near an unoccupied bed. She held her breath as she heard the nurse peek in to check the occupants of the room, then heaved a sigh of relief when she continued down the hall. Coming out from behind the curtain, she poked her head out the door, looking in both directions to make sure the nurse was out of sight before continuing back on her search.

Mikan felt a little relieved when she found the door just a bit further down the hall. However, recalling what came next, she steeled herself before stepping through. The room was like all the others in this wing, painted cheerily, with multiple beds and a large window at the end. Only one of the beds was occupied, and Mikan approached it, trying to swallow the lump of anxiety rising in her throat.

Gently she pushed back the curtain shielding the bed, and had to stifle a gasp as she looked at the occupant. It was a boy, probably not much older than her. He looked so weak. She couldn't help transposing his face with Natsume's and Kaname-senpai's and could feel the tears pricking her eyes as she did.

The boy had been handsome once, but now his clear skin sagged, evidence of an extreme loss of weight. His hair, which had likely once been a gorgeous silky auburn, was now limp and dull. Mikan struggled with herself for a good many minutes as she tried to focus on what she had to do – and why she had to do it. Stretching out her hand and resting it on his fragile chest, she focused her Alice on stealing his, never taking her eyes off his face.

Moments later, the task was done. Mikan turned to leave, still choking back tears, but was stopped, startled, when a weak hand grasped around her wrist. Turning, her gaze met now-opened emerald green, tired eyes.

"Please, don't go. Stay with me awhile."

The plea was so soft – sad and sincere – that Mikan was frozen in place. She stared at the boy, unsure what to do. He continued, unconcerned with her lack of response.

"I've heard of you from some of the others. You're the one who visits dying Alices in the night and takes their Alices away, right? They call you the Dark Angel."

Mikan tried to register this. She had a title now? That disturbed her more than she would have expected. She didn't want to be so well known. ..not for this at least. She did not want to be remembered for this. Her eyes widened as the boy flashed her a winsome, almost flirtatious smile.

"They got the Angel part right, but I'm not so sure about the Dark. You don't seem very dark to me. Well, aside from the clothes. I bet you're very cute when you're not dressed for sneaking around hospitals. My name is Micah, by the way. My father was American."

Mikan finally found her voice.

"Um…hello,..Micah. Why are you being so friendly? Aren't you angry with me? Afraid? Everyone else who awoke and saw me was…"

She moved toward the bed, her throat thick. Why was she talking to him? She should get away. What if she got caught? But she couldn't turn away from this tragically charming boy.

"Afraid? Of you?" Micah chuckled weakly, then coughed a couple times before continuing. "Who could be afraid of a sweet girl like you? And as to the angry part, well, I obviously don't need my Alice anymore, so I don't see why you shouldn't have it." Micah sighed, leaning back against the pillow, suddenly feeling very tired. Mikan watched him, concerned.

"Are you okay? Maybe I should call a nurse…" Mikan turned to look for the call button, getting ready to run, but Micah stopped her.

"No, please don't. Stay with me." He looked down briefly, then his eyes met hers again, and they looked so immeasurably sad and tired. "I have a confession to make. You see…I don't have much longer, and I was rather sort of selfishly hoping you'd stay with me till then. I don't want to be alone…"

His eyes shifted to the side, and Mikan could feel a tear make its way down her cheek.

"Where are your parents? Why aren't they here with you?"

Micah smiled sadly.

"My father died a long time ago. I have five siblings at home that my mother has to support by herself." He paused briefly. "I don't resent her, for not being here, even though I'm dying. She can't do anything more for me. She has to look out for the ones she can do something for…I just don't want to be alone right now…at the end. I know it's a cruel request. You don't even know me…but please, won't you please stay till then?"

Mikan nodded, tears now making their way unrelentingly. Micah smiled again and relaxed, looking up at the ceiling.

"I bet you have a really cool boyfriend back at the Academy waiting for you, huh? That's where you're from, right? The Academy? I've been in this hospital since I was a baby, so I never went there, but I've heard about it. My mother is an Alice too."

Mikan nodded, but remained quiet, forgetting the first part of his question. How awful it would be to spend your entire life in a hospital.

"So what's your boyfriend like? I bet he's freaking out that you aren't there right now."

"Ah!" Mikan blushed, waving her hands. "He's not my boyfriend…at least…well, he hasn't said so…officially…yet. Anyway, we fought before I left, so I doubt he's very worried."

Even as she said it, she knew it wasn't true. Just because her and Natsume fought all the time in the past didn't mean she didn't worry about him constantly. Besides, wasn't that why they fought in the first place? Because he was so worried about her?

"Of course he's worried. Bet he'd be none too happy to find out you were hanging out with another boy at this hour." He grinned again, albeit weakly. "You know, I've had a few girlfriends now and then. And I think Nurse Minako is rather fond of me."

Mikan choked out a laugh at his devilish smirk.

They talked like this for the next couple hours. Mikan completely lost track of time. After a while, his sentences grew sluggish. His eyes drifted closed, and he stopped talking altogether. At first, his breathing seemed a little labored, but as unconsciousness took him, he seemed relaxed, peaceful. She sat with him, on the edge of his bed, as the minutes ticked by. Not long after, his breath hitched, then stopped completely. Then the heart monitor flat lined. Silently, Mikan released the hand she had clutched and hurried out of the room before the nurses came. Her eyes were so full of tears she could barely see, her throat felt thick and her chest tight. She clung to the Alice stone in her hand like it was a precious treasure. She had only barely met him, yet somehow it felt like she had lost a dear friend.

As she rushed out of the hospital and prepared to teleport back to the Academy, she couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding that this wouldn't be the last time she'd experience this. Natsume's face came to her mind, and she almost suffocated on the overwhelming grief and dread that clutched her.

A little while later Mikan sat in her room wondering how she'd gotten there. Everything was a blur. Looking at the clock, she noticed it was 4 in the morning. She'd have to be up in a few hours to go to class. It was hardly worth going to sleep.

Instead, she stumbled to her desk, pulled out her stowed Alice stones, and tried to formulate her plan. She couldn't focus. She felt heartbroken to think that that boy – no – that Micah's Alice was in the hands of the principal. After struggling with herself for a few minutes, she gave into the despair overwhelming her and sobbed and sobbed.

Okay, so that was rather depressing. I'll try to put some lighter moments in the next chapter. But regardless, there it is. R&R please!