The next two days passed without event. Mikan set up a spare bed in her room for Natsume, while Narumi slept in the living area. Yuka was taken to the funeral home to be prepared for the funeral, but that was a very sad day.
"You can't take mummy! I haven't finished saying goodbye!" She ran after the funeral director. Natsume ran up behind her and grabbed her hand.
"Mikan! It's the best thing for Aunty!" She struggled against his grip. She kept struggling, until Narumi came and lifted her up.
"Mikan, it's sad for everyone. Please settle down a little bit." She started hitting his back.
"No, no ,no! Mummy, please come back!" The funeral director came over and patted her head.
"I know this is hard for you little one, but you'll get to see your mother again tomorrow." She settled down a little bit.
"But that'll be the last time, I need more time with her!" Grandpa walked over and covered her eyes.
"Time is something that we will lose. Memories are the things we can keep best. Learn to remember your mother joyfully, and I'm sure then she will rest in peace." He moved his hands away, and she wiped away her tears.
"So if I'm happy, mother will be happy?" He nodded.
"Forever and ever." She hopped out of Naru's arms and wiped her tears.
"Then I'll make it my mission to be happy, for me and mummy." Natsume smiled and put his hand in his pocket.
"I'm sure Aunty will be very pleased." Mikan turned to him.
"You're calling her Aunty?" He closed his eyes.
"She was my mother's best friend, the closest person to her besides my father. I think I can consider her my Aunty." Mikan smiled and ran over to him.
"Then when I meet your Father, he will be Uncle." Natsume's breath caught.
"Ruka used to call him Uncle..." She put her hand up to his face.
"I'm sure everyone is fine, especially Ruka and Hotaru. They are two of the strongest people I have ever met." He smiled a little and brought her hand down into his.
"I hope you're right." Mikan smiled and looked back at him.
"Let's start again." He looked at her with a confused expression.
"What do you mean?" She laughed.
"Let's be happy here. We can go to school, try to live like normal kids." He just chuckled.
"We're far from normal." She stared into the distance.
"Well that can be our little secret. I had Grandpa enrol us into school yesterday, we start tomorrow." He looked over to her.
"And you didn't think to ask me first?" She smiled at him.
"It'll be fine. We need some sort of normality in our lives." He squeezed her hand.
"I guess." Then he looked back at her.
"Isn't Aunties funeral tomorrow?" She nodded.
"It's after school. The dusk is much prettier and more peaceful." He smiled.
"Ok then, we can do this, as long as we're together." She laughed and nodded.
"Let's head inside, Naru went and got you some more clothes." His face dropped.
"I'm not wearing them." She looked at him, puzzled.
"Why?" He looked at her with a very scary face.
"Have you seen what that guy wears? It'll probably have puffy sleeves and pink ribbons." She laughed.
"I'm sure it can't be that bad, and we'll never know until we go see." He sighed a really big sigh, then started walking inside.
"Fine then, let's get this over with." They both walked into the living room, where Narumi was unpacking some bags.
"Ahhh Mikan, Natsume, just in time." Natsume just stood there.
"If you brought anything with frills or ribbons, I will burn you." He just laughed.
"I wouldn't do that. The woman said this is what boys like wearing around here. He held up a few plain shirts and hoodies. He had to admit they weren't too bad.
"Thanks." As Natsume examined the clothes, Naru turned to Mikan.
"So, are you happy to go back to normal school?" She nodded.
"Yes, and with Natsume there, I'm sure it will be even better!" He laughed at her enthusiasm. He was pleased to see them at least a little happy after everything they had been through. A rattle was heard and they both turned around to see Natsume standing in the doorway in a plain white shirt and black shorts. Naru nodded in approval.
"I don't think I did too bad myself." Natsume just took a seat near the table. Mikan made her way over to sit next to him. Grandpa came in and placed their meals on the table.
"Ok everyone, eat up and then off to bed. We all have a big day tomorrow." Natsume began eating, but Mikan just stared at her food. He looked over to her.
"What's wrong?" She continued to stare at her bowl.
"I was just thinking, school is going to be so different, and normal. It's going to be strange, and without everyone there, it just won't feel right." Natsume placed his bowl on the table.
"Mikan, listen to me. This change is for the better. We both know that the academy is and never was a safe place, and when everyone gets out of there, whenever that may be, we will all have better lives away from there." Mikan just continued to stare.
"I guess you're right." She picked up her bowl and began eating. The room was silent, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Naru placed his bowl on the table, stood and bowed towards Grandpa.
"It was a lovely meal, thank you. I'm off to bed now." Everyone (excluding Natsume) wished him a goodnights sleep. Grandpa hurried Mikan and Natsume up and sent them off to bed.
Natsume woke with a fright, nightmares of everything that had happened still haunting him. He sat in his bed silent, staring at the roof. Mikan grumbled in her sleep, causing him to look. She looked so at peace when she was sleeping, not pain evident in her features, just her. He turned back to look at the end of his bed, and noticed that the living room light was on. It had to be 2 in the morning. He got up and opened the door slightly, just enough that he could see and hear what was going on. Narumi and Grandpa were seated in the living room, and they both looked unsettled. He caught on to what they were saying.
"Grandpa-chan, when do you plan on telling Mikan?" He shook his head slowly.
"I cannot bring myself to tell her. I don't need her to worry about me when she has so much more going on." He looked up to Narumi.
"Narumi, may I ask why the academy is after those two children?" Naru took in a breath.
"The principal of the middle school has a goal he wishes to accomplish, but it involves using students and their alice's. He is a greedy man. Mikan's mother once did his work for him, but she rebelled against the academy and tried to save the children. But she was forced to run away, so the academy returned to normal. He is scared that Mikan's alice could cause the same problems for him, and they have already done a sufficient amount of damage to his plan." Grandpa was astounded.
"And Natsume?" Narumi went to speak, but Natsume opened the door.
"Naru." He looked up and then closed his mouth.
"Maybe you should ask Natsume that question." Natsume walked over and took a seat near them.
"It's not something that everyone has to know. It's probably better that you don't." Grandpa could tell that whatever Natsume didn't want to tell anyone was very personal, and he respected that.
"Very well, but Natsume, please know that I will be here for you and Mikan." He nodded.
"Thank you." He got up to go back to bed, but stopped at the door.
"May I ask what you are not telling Mikan?" No one spoke for several moments. Grandpa stood and went to leave the room, but Natsume stopped him.
"I don't want to see her hurt anymore." The look in Natsume's eye showed just how much he meant what he said. Grandpa sighed and looked at Natsume with a pained expression.
"Perhaps we should sit down for this." He lead Natsume back to the table and sat down.
"Natsume, you must not repeat what I am about to tell you to Mikan, not matter how appropriate you feel it is that she knows." He stared at the man, pain still evident in his features.
"I can't promise you, but I'll do my best." Grandpa grimaced.
"Natsume, if you tell her, she will be hurt, and she will worry." He looked down.
"Very well, I won't tell her, for now." He took a deep breath before speaking.
"While Mikan was away, I started to become ill. I have been trying to keep well, but my condition is incurable. It will continue to get worse. I will not die, but I may become bedridden in coming years." The room went quiet. It felt as if a wave of gloom had come across the room. Natsume didn't move, but he spoke quietly.
"She would want to know." Grandpa sighed.
"I just can't bring myself to tell her. She just lost her mother, and from what Narumi has told me, all her friends from Alice. I don't want to make her feel any more pain than she already is." Natsume stood silently and headed back to bed.
"I know what you mean, having to bear the unbearable for the ones you love..." Then he entered the bedroom and sat on his bed again. He laid back and stared at the roof. He whispered to himself.
"Mikan...what did you ever do to deserve all this?" She rolled in her sleep. He observed her for a while. She kept moving and became restless. She was making noises, and they sounded like she was terrified. He knew he shouldn't wake her, but he couldn't bear to watch her anymore. He made his way over to her bedside.
"Mikan, Mikan!" She woke with a scream. She had sweat droplets on her head and was huffing. She looked around for a few seconds before focusing in on Natsume's face. He stared at her blank features.
"Are you ok Mikan?" She just stared.
"Mikan, hello?" She just kept staring. She started to feel his face and shoulders.
"You are real..." She kept her hands on his face, before throwing her arms around his neck.
"Natsume, I was so scared!" He put his arms around her and held her close.
"It's ok, it was just a dream." She kept crying into his shoulder. They stayed like that for almost an hour. Mikan eventually fell asleep in Natsume's arms, still whimpering slightly in her sleep. He brushed her hair out of her face, then laid her back down in her bed. As he went to get up, she grabbed his shirt in her sleep, denying him the will to move.
"Natsume..." He couldn't tell if she was awake or not, but her grip was unbreakable. It had to be almost 3 in the morning, and he was getting extremely drowsy. He laid down next to her and they both slept the rest of the night peacefully.
"Mikan, Mikan." Natsume shook her gently, it was already morning. She opened her eyes slowly, taking a while to adjust to the brightness of the room. He smiled ever so slightly.
"Good morning." She sat up and wiped her eyes, before having several items of clothing thrown at her. She heard the door open. Natsume spoke quickly.
"You'd better hurry up and get ready; we have to leave for school soon." She heard the sound of the door closing, before she removed the clothes and looked over to her clock.
"8:00am! Oh no, I'm late!" She leapt out of bed and tried to do a million things at once. She had her shirt half on while trying to do her hair, while trying to slip her feet into her shoes. Failing to be able to multi-task that well, she tripped and fell with a loud crash, falling onto Natsume's bed.
"Ouch..." She faintly heard the door open. She looked up, covered in half put-on clothes, to see Natsume standing at the door. He smirked, the amuse clear on his features.
"What are you doing?" She tried to tidy herself up, but ended up tangling herself up more. He walked over and helped her put her shirt on straight.
"At this rate we will be late." She got up and adjusted her shoes, before grabbing her bag.
"Ready!" She walked past him and waited at the door. He grabbed his bag an they both walked down the path, only to be met by Narumi. Natsume's mood instantly dropped.
"What do you want?"He smiled and put his hand on Natsume's and Mikan's shoulders. Natsume instantly moved away. Naru was still smiling.
"I'll be escorting you both to school. I have to speak with the principal and organize a few things for you two." Mikan jumped with excitement.
"Yay!" She grabbed his hand and then offered hers to Natsume. He looked at it, then looked up at Naru, who was smiling way too much. He just started walking ahead.
"I'd prefer not to with him around." Her face dropped, but then she smiled.
"That's fine, I understand!" He turned and looked down the road.
"Are we going?" She laughed and began leading Naru down the road. Natsume couldn't help but smile at how happy she was. They all walked down the small road to the school, chatting and laughing, acting as if there wasn't a care in the world. Natsume was a little quieter than usual, but they put it down to having to start again. They soon arrived at the school gates. Natsume and Naru just stared at how small the school was. After being at the academy for so long, they weren't used to how small regular areas were. Mikan on the other hand was over the moon. Her eyes were sparkling as she gazed upon her old but new school.
"Isn't it just beautiful?" She placed her hand on the small wire fence, and moved her hand along it slowly as she walked in. Naru followed in close behind, but Natsume stood outside the gate. He saw Naru and Mikan enter the small office building, still not noticing his absence, but he didn't mind. Gazing upon the peaceful setting of the school, children laughing, playing. They looked so free and careless. As he was still staring he heard someone calling his name. He looked over and saw Mikan waving at him to come in. He smiled slightly and walked toward the building.
"Maybe everything could work out after all." He walked up and met her at the door, bith entering the school building, and walking towards a new start.