Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice! ^_^v
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Thursday (8:00 pm)
A pair of brown eyes opened slowly, trying to accommodate the dark lighting in the room.
The moment Natsume brought Mikan to the hospital, she slept all day as the doctors healed her injuries. Her injuries were a little bad but nothing the state of the art technology of the academy can't fix. Natsume skipped classes and stayed beside Mikan all day, checking if the girl is feeling better.
He was asleep on the chair beside her bed when Mikan opened her eyes. She stared at him for a long time and remembered the incident that happened yesterday. She sighed in relief and closed her eyes, knowing that her friends and she were saved, but the thought of the ESP knowing her Stealing Alice is already in her control made her anxious.
'How the hell did that old geezer know about it? I never used it unless it was in the barrier of Shiki for practice…so how?' She thought deeply not noticing that a pair of crimson eyes had already opened.
"Stop looking so constipated after waking up." He commented hoping to lighten the mood of the girl. Mikan got embarrassed at his comment. She wanted to ignore it, but Natsume's continuous egging kept her temper up.
"What no comebacks? Those hits must've knocked you out pretty badly coz now you can't even counter any smart ass comebacks." He teased. Mikan sat up and propped herself on the headboard before replying at him.
"Shut up. Be thankful I'm still in this bed or else I'll beat you up too!" She replied in annoyance.
"Hmm….and when did the student became better than the master?"
"Since, she kicked his ass during their battle practice." She replied with a confident smirk. She felt a little better now that Natsume is with her.
"You didn't beat me! I allowed you to beat me since I felt pity for you for always losing." He explained arrogantly.
"Riiiiggghttt…and I am Naoki sempai's girlfriend…" She said sarcastically which he didn't get.
"Congratulations." He said before standing up and brushing himself off. His mood turned sour when he heard her comment and started to leave.
"Huh? What? Hey! Where are you going so suddenly?" She asked him hurriedly not wanting him to leave.
"Now that you mention it, your "boy-toy" came today. He visited you and asked for you if you'd wake up." He replied without looking at her.
"He did? Wait! He isn't…" but he cut her off.
"I'm glad you're ok. Look, I'm going back to tell them the good news so, see you in class." With that he turned the knob and left without waiting for her response.
"Wait! Natsume! He isn't…my boyfriend" she whispered the last words to no one. Mikan felt hurt when he suddenly left like that.
"Stupid Natsume! You should listen to what other people is saying…" She said to herself as she tried to release her frustration on her sheets.
She sighed and noticed that the silence in her room is unbearable for her. It reminds her of the time when her mother died. Back then, even after Yuka was unconscious already, they brought her to the hospital hoping there would still be some hope to revive her, but as they feared….she was dead already. Mikan could still remember the same atmosphere back then, the same silence and the stuffy air in the hospital with a muffled sounds coming from the outside.
She felt uncomfortable and the issue with Natsume made her even more lonely and depressed. She tried to sleep, but couldn't. Minutes turned to hours and she still couldn't get some rest.
"ARRG! It's all Natsume's fault!" She vented trying to take her mind of her discomfort. 'He's gonna be sorry for leaving me behind like that.' She thought to herself before shoving the sheets off and taking off the contraptions taped on her and left through the window to avoid being seen to look and vent her annoyance on the fire-caster.
Meanwhile….somewhere the academy…
"Stupid, you didn't need to show her how pissed you are. It's not like she knows…" Natsume said to himself as he watched the stars from the branch he was lying on. He sighed at his over reaction in the hospital and decided to go back and check on her again, but refused to do so.
"Nah…I already told her I'll see her in class. I would look like a fool if I go back now…but she hates being alone in the hospital…I wonder how she is right now? Shit! Am I going or what?" He debated with himself. He ruffled his hair in frustration and sat up.
"I'll just take a sneak peek and I'll leave immediately. She won't even know I came back." With that he stood up and was about to get ready to leave when he heard the leaves rustle. His senses were on high alert and observed his surroundings, sensing if an enemy is nearby.
He waited for a moment and concealed himself from behind the leaves. He waited for a moment before something came from behind him.
Of course, with years of training, it was too early for Natsume to be ambushed and taken down without a fight. He twisted his body flexibly and grabbed the person that was holding him from behind and slammed the person down to the trunk of the tree. He couldn't see who it was, but as the moonlight shone on them, he's faced paled in horror.
"Cough! Cough! Can't breathe!" She complained as her neck was crushed under his hands. Natsume immediately let go of her and assisted her in a more comfortable position.
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" He yelled at her angrily. He couldn't describe the mixed feeling he was feeling at the moment. His body shook in horror as he saw his hand print on her neck.
'I could've killed her.' He thought guiltily.
"Cough! I'm fine Natsume."
"I ALMOST KILLED YOU! DO YOU KNOW THAT?"
"O..okay…I'm sorry Natsume…I didn't mean to…" She explained, but suddenly surprised when he hugged her tightly.
"Don't do that again. Do you understand me? Don't ever do that again!" He said to her. His angry tone was replaced with relief and worry as he hugged the girl in front of him.
"Natsume…" She whispered hoping it will calm him down. He pulled away from her and touched the mark that was left by his hand on her neck.
"I'm sorry…I…"
"It's ok…it was my fault. I should've known better…I'm really sorry for making you angry." She replied sincerely as she watched his crimson eyes calm down a bit. He stared at her for a while before noticing she was still wearing the hospital gown.
"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be resting at the hospital?" He asked her blankly.
"Umm..about that well.."
"Go back. Go back now." He ordered her.
"NO! I don't like it there. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Besides it's partly your fault!" She explained childishly as she fiddled with her gown nervously while avoiding Natsume's stare.
"My fault?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows in curiosity.
'What is she talking about?' he thought to himself.
"Yes! If you hadn't left me alone so suddenly, I…I wouldn't feel so uncomfortable there. You know how much I hate being in the hospital ever since my mom died."
"You could've called you boy-toy to stay with you." He replied bitterly as he remembered their earlier conversation.
"Boy-toy? Look here…"
"You don't need to explain to me you know. It's not like I'm your boyfriend for you to explain everything to me." He replied without looking at her. Mikan felt disappointed at his words. She doesn't know why, but he was right. It's not like he was her boyfriend…so why does she need to clear it up for him? Why does she feel hurt with his impassive words?
"I don't know…I just wanted to explain so you won't misunderstand." She replied softly.
'Don't bother Natsume, she won't realize it. She will never realize it…' He thought to himself sadly.
"Forget it. Let's just go back to the hospital okay?" He changed the subject when the silence became unbearable for him.
Natsume tried to make her stand, but Mikan felt weak after confronting him, physically, mentally and emotionally fatigued, so he turned his back on her and signaled her to get on.
Mikan watched Natsume offered his back to her and she got on slowly. She felt his warmth against the cold night and it felt comfortable. She hugged him tighter and it made him sighed inwardly. She whispered a word of thanks and he just answered her like usual.
"Ne…Natsume…can you tell me why is your heart's beating so fast?" She asked him as she closed her eyes and allowed his heart beat to lull her to sleep.
"Yeah…it's because you're so heavy and I'm tired." He joked but he noticed she already fell asleep. He reached her hospital room and laid her down on the bed gently. He watched her slow paced breathing and brushed a few stray hairs away from her face.
"It's because you were so close that can't calm down." He whispered as he took her hands and placed it on his chest. He then kissed it gently before placing it back down and left.
Unknown to him, that as he left, Mikan held her hand close to her chest silently and whispered in the dark.
"Ne Natsume…what did you do? My heart also won't calm down…"
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To be continued…
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A/N
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Lolita-chi
obessedfan101
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