Disclaimer: GA isn't mine
Chapter 2:
She felt a chill up her body as she spun around and faced the door.
There was no one there, but at the same time she wasn't sure. It was dark and the room was only illuminated by the moon.
"What are you doing in my room?" A soft hiss escaped from behind her. She stiffened and a hand reached her neck and held her in place. She struggled against his grasp but he held on tighter, and dark purple spots blurred her vision.
"Natsu-me…" Mikan muttered. She smacked his hands away as she sank down onto the rug. "What the-" She coughed.
"You…" Natsume stared. He had thought it was someone else he didn't want to see. "What are you doing in my room?!" He demanded again, less dangerous but more annoyed now. Mikan stood up and faced him, hands on her hips.
"I thought I could get my handkerchief from you, so I came up here. Were you trying to murder me, holding on to my neck like that!?" She fumed.
"I never allowed you in to my room in the first place, and your handkerchief, I threw it away. Who wants such an ugly piece of thing in his room?" Natsume replied, bored.
"You what!?" Mikan shouted at him.
"Get out…" he growled.
Mikan stared at him unbelievingly, and stalked out of the room. She lay on her bed, cursing Natsume till she fell asleep.
Natsume breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door behind her. He had thought it was someone else undesirable in his room and thinking back; getting so close to an unknown person was a bad move. He could easily have been taken down with his injuries still unhealed if Mikan had been an enemy. He switched on the lights and started changing the dressings on his wound. He untied a piece of cloth from his right arm and laid it on a table and went to bed, dreading the shift he had tomorrow during the carnival.
In the dim lights, the pink sakura flower on that piece of cloth was faintly visible.
The next day, Mikan sat up on her bed, trying to remember what she was supposed to be doing today.
"19th September, 1:54pm, what on earth am I supposed to be doing now?"
Mikan stood in from of the mirror and squinted at the note stuck there, and realization hit her.
"CARNIVAL!!!"
She slammed the cupboard door open and pulled out the waitress uniform Hotaru had passed her the day before and rushed to the bathroom. Trying to lengthen the skirt and brushing her hair at the same time, Mikan decided that she had rather not be too late. She grabbed a red ribbon and ran out of her room towards the class. Crossing her fingers behind her back, she stepped into the classroom and the view shocked her.
There were already many tables filled and the 3 waiters could be seen picking their way through the crowded area and serving dishes at top speed.
Everyone in the room momentarily stopped as she entered.
Mikan's face was flushed, and her body carried the waitress' uniform perfectly. The skirt hung around at her thighs and her blouse fitted perfectly. Her hair was swaying under the air-conditioner, accentuating her hazel eyes.
"I'm so sorry everyone," Mikan stuttered, breaking the awkward silence as she proceeded to tie her hair up with the ribbon, rushing to help out.
Hotaru stared at Mikan for a moment, and a smirk flashed past her face. She'd never thought Mikan'd look this good, and with Natsume and Koko, business will definitely be brisk. She grinned in delight; she can almost smell the money. Natsume too, had his eyes fixed on Mikan as she rushed in and out of the kitchen, balancing plates and bowls on the tray. He shook his head and went back to his work, what the hell was he doing!? But he couldn't help but sneak a few glances at her throughout the day. Sometimes, he caught Koko staring at her too, and he'd give his head a sharp knock and continued with his work.
The day passed really quickly as the customers breezed in and out of class 2-B, and at the end of the day, the advertisers stumbled back into the room and collapsed onto the chair, exhausted. Hotaru moved to pour a cup of sweet ice lemonade and placed it on Ruka's table.
"Thank you for your hard work today." He heard her say as she walked away back to the counter and proceeded to count the money earned.
Ruka smiled as he sipped the lemonade, and he murmured something under his breath. Minutes later, two sparrows flew in with periwinkle stalks in their beaks and they dropped it on the counter, twitted cheerily and flew away. Hotaru was surprised for a moment, but gave Ruka her rare knowing smile.
When they were back in their dormitories, an announcement was made.
"With the most earnings, 1970 rabbits, CLASS 2-B!" The announcer clapped before cutting the line off. Cheers could be heard erupting from different levels of the dorms and Mikan started celebrating, jumping on her bed. 100 rabbit food voucher, it's a dream come true!
"The central town visit for the whole of Year 2 will be set tomorrow, please make sure that your partner will be going too, or else you would not be able to be on that trip." The announcer suddenly added and Mikan momentarily paused.
"No wayyy." She moaned as she trudged up the stairs to Natsume's room.
"He'd better follow along; I've wanted to go to Central Town for ages!" She muttered to herself.
She hammered on Natsume's door, and waited for a moment.
"What?"
"Go to Central Town with me!"
"No, now go away."
"NATSUME!" Mikan shouted at the closed door and kicked it. "Please? I haven't been there for a long time, please." She softened pleadingly, praying it'd work. She was glad he refused to open the door, for her face will never convince him.
"Fine, bye."
Mikan cheered inwardly and thanked him, skipping back to her room in delight.
The next day, Mikan made sure she woke up early to get ready and was one of the earliest to get to the hall. Natsume had already arrived, and was staring into space waiting for the rest to come. She sat close to him and after a few moments, fell asleep. It was still early in the morning and she wasn't use to waking early, even for school.
The sky outside was already bright, and the chilly breeze blew. It was early winter and the weather was pleasantly cool.
Everyone started arriving around 8:20, all dressed casually with just a hat or a scarf to keep warm.
"Okay, class2-B all here? Let's go, we're the earliest class and you guys can have more time to shop around Central Town, have fun!" Narumi gushed.
As they exited the main hall, the Public Announcement System crackled for a moment and the announcement is made.
"Attention everyone: there will be a drastic change in weather in Tokyo, Japan these two days. Classes going on the Central Town trip please wear more, or just get back earlier to the Academy. Thank you."
Mikan hurried towards the Howalon shop, there was no queue! Waking up early wasn't that bad after all as she paid for two boxes of Howalon. The shopkeeper beamed at her and gave her an extra candy cane.
"Long time no see huh, Mikan."
"Thanks!" And she rushed back to where Natsume was seated, bored.
"Here, one's for you." Mikan placed one box on his lap and started eating from her box. Natsume opened his mouth to reject, but decided to just leave it and started eating too.
"Let's go visit Mr. Bear!" Mikan exclaimed and started pulling Natsume along. He sighed and smacked her hand away, but followed anyway. Mikan wrapped her scarf around her neck a few more times and rubbed her arms. The breeze blew over the area and little snowdrops started to fall. Mikan looked up at the sky, but she shook her head and just carried on, quickening her footsteps.
"Hey walk faster, it's snowing. We should get back soon." Mikan looked back at Natsume.
The walk took only ten minutes, but the snow fell at a steady heavy rate, and Mikan's breath came out in a misty fog. The wind suddenly picked up speed and the snow fell more quickly. Mikan grabbed Natsume's hand and went to hide in a cave near Mr. Bear's home.
"He's not even home…" Mikan sighed as she looked at the dark house.
"You made a wasted trip, idiot." Natsume said and sat down. "Guess we'll have to wait till the snow stops, since I can't bring you along in this snow."
Mikan sat down and hugged her knees, shivering slightly in the cold. Outside, she could see the snow falling heavily, the area a patch of white. Natsume sighed and pulled her over to his side and lit a fire in front of them. Mikan yelped in surprise but relaxed in the warmth. He had the Fire Alice, and his body felt hot. But the surrounding was still cold.
"Natsume, I'm sorry for bringing you so much trouble." She leaned closer toward him, but couldn't seem to get his warmth.
She bit her lip and shivered. She needed warmth, she felt so cold, and she couldn't feel her hands; only the warm hands that gripped hers. She shut her eyes, and felt her body get warmer and warmer. How good it felt, she wanted more-
"Mikan! What are you-"
She looked up in surprise, and Natsume was staring at her, wide-eyed; he had turned pale all of a sudden.
She looked down at their clasped hands and pulled away.
There was something in her palm.
Something she'd never thought she would see.
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