Bwahahaha! I can finally update! Hope I don't disappoint! 

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Last chapter:

"You are…" Mikan said in an awed whisper "…so beautiful."

The lake dancer finished his dance, pausing in a final pose. Mikan could finally breathe properly. She clapped her hands delightedly, and then saw his eyes open in surprise.

"You were -- wait!" Mikan exclaimed as, with a startled look, the dancer ran to the thick foliage of the forest. She automatically ran after him, unfortunately forgetting the lakes' presence. She stumbled, and then fell headfirst into the lake with a splash.

"Oh, darn it!" she yelled, causing some birds to fly from their roost. After a few inhale-exhales, Mikan looked at the direction the lake dancer ran to.

"Who was he?"

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"He was standing like this…" Mikan said in a strained voice as she tried to stand on her tippy toes – kind of hard to do as she was wearing boots – her arms straining to gracefully arc above her head.

"And then he did…" she suddenly stopped, "Ah-ah-ahchoo!"

"Mikan!" Yuu cried out as the force of her sneeze sent her sprawling on the ground.

"I don't know if I'm going to laugh or feel sorry for her." Nonoko said wryly.

"I know exactly what you mean," Ana said with a slight smile.

"This is a waste of time." Hotaru said with a sigh.

"Hotaru, don't be so mean!" Mikan wailed, still sitting on the ground.

"What are you doing, Mikan?" Misaki asked as she walked up to the bench where they were all gathered.

"Looks like some kind of ritual dance." Tsubasa teasingly said as he strolled to stand beside Misaki.

"The only thing you're good at is wasting everyone else's time, huh, little girl?"

Mikan bristled at that familiar, derisive voice, but before she could summon a fierce enough scowl, Yuu grasped her arm to help her up. An offering hand came into her field of vision and she gratefully took it.

"Thanks, she said as she dusted her blue uniform. She smiled at her surrounding friends to let them know she was okay.

"You can let go of her hand now." Hotaru dryly told Ruka, who gave a startled yelp and, blushing, moved back to stand beside a scowling Natsume.

"You okay?" Tsubasa asked Mikan, reaching over to pat her on the head despite Natsume's intensifying scowl. "What are you guys talking about?"

"She was telling them about the guy she saw at the lake last night." Kokoroyomi cheerfully said as his head poked out of a nearby bush.

"How long have you been there?" queried Ana as Nonoko shrieked in surprise.

"A guy?" Natsume echoed.

"According to Mikan," Hotaru said as she pushed her long dark over her shoulder, "she saw this light in the Northern Forest."

"And you investigated." Tsubasa continued with certainty.

"How do you know that?" Mikan asked with delighted wonder.

"Because only an idiot like you would do that." Natsume explained rudely.

"Oh, shut up!" Mikan yelled.

"And then you saw this guy?" Misaki asked.

"Mikan said he was dancing on the lake." said Yuu.

"Dancing on the lake?" asked Ruka, startled.

"You idiot. People can't dance on lakes." Natsume said to Mikan.

"I know that! And I am not an idiot." she spat back. "I was thinking maybe he was an Alice. Wait," she blinked as a thought occurred to her. "You mean, none of you noticed anything whatsoever?"

As they mutely shook their heads, Mikan's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"I did hear something when I was working late last night." Nonoko offered.

"Yeah? What?" Mikan excitedly prodded.

"A splash, then a loud 'Darn it!'"

Mikan blushed.

"That was Mikan!" Kokoroyomi announced.

"Typical." said Natsume.

"Where is this guy now?" Ruka questioned.

"Apparently, he ran away when he noticed Mikan was there." replied Nonoko.

"You must have scared him with your ugly face."

"If you have nothing nice to say, Natsume, why don't you just shut up?"

"You're probably right." Hotaru calmly said to a smirking Natsume as Mikan fumed.

"Oh, Hotaru! Not you too!" Mikan wailed.

"If he is an Alice, he must be a Somatic type because he can dance." Yuu murmured, tapping a forefinger to his chin.

"What do you think, Ruka?" asked Ana.

"Hmm…I don't think so. I know that's usually the case but…dancing on a lake? I don't know anyone with that kind of alice."

"Maybe he's not a Somatic type." said Kokoroyomi. "He could be a robot made by a Technical type."

"No way." Mikan said with a shake of her head. "No robot can dance like that."

"What did he look like? Maybe we know who he is." Misaki offered.

"Well… he was tall, as tall as Mr. Narumi, I think. Slender and fair. I think he's about Tsubasa's age. I was too far to see his eyes, though…oh, and he had white hair."

"White hair?" Nonoko echoed.

"I'm not that old! Are you sure he's about my age?" Tsubasa sputtered.

"Yeah, "Mikan said, distractedly. "It fell in layers around his face, down to his chin."

"I don't think I know anybody with white hair." Misaki said, bewildered.

"Yeah. And we've been here for a long time." said Tsubasa as he leaned on a tree.

"Oh, that's right. You're graduating in a few months, right?" Yuu said brightly.

"Yup. We're real excited, but a little sad as well." Misaki replied.

"Despite everything, I'm going to miss this place." said Tsubasa wistfully. "Don't be sad, Mikan." He laid his hand on the younger girls' head, understanding. "It's the way things are. Hey, why don't we help you find this dancer of yours, huh?"

"You mean it?" Mikan asked brightly.

"Yeah, could be fun." agreed Kokoroyomi .

"I don't know. I have a lot of things to do…" Misaki started to say, but at Tsubasa's raised eyebrow, she hastily said, "I'm in!"

"So are we!" Ana and Nonoko said in unison.

"I could do it for 50 rabbits." Hotaru offered.

"Oh, Hotaru!" Mikan wailed once again.

"Well, we do have a lot of things to do, Mikan." Yuu explained. "We're all graduating in a few months, and Hotaru and I are part of the committee."

"Yeah, we'll be in high school in a few months!" squealed Ana.

"It's not easy being in the committee. We're in charge of the ceremony, and if it doesn't go smoothly, we'll be in trouble. We just don't have time to go around looking for an elusive dancer." Hotaru added bluntly.

"Not to mention all the paperwork." quipped Yuu.

"It's okay, I understand." Mikan said, trying to brighten up her voice. She was really sorry that Hotaru couldn't help, but she didn't want to inconvenience her best friend if she could help it.

"I'll help." Ruka said as he frowned at Hotaru. How could she choose the school over a friend?

"Really?" Mikan asked.

Ruka felt his insides melt at Mikan's bright smile. "Yeah, of course I will." he promised with a helpless smile.

"Hn. Do whatever you want." Natsume said as he walked away.

"No one asked you!" Mikan yelled. As he walked away, she whispered, "Natsume…"

"Well, who needs him!" Mikan huffed. "With all of us working together, we're sure to find that lake dancer!" she announced.

"Right!" her friends said in unison.

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Right. Forgive me for the typos. Hope to update soon. Review, review!