Hello there! The fact that this is late in getting to you proves that the holidays does the opposite of speeding up updates (Also, I'm so obsessed with Bleach that all I'm doing is watching 20 episodes daily, now that its the holidays. Yep, I'm the one who blitzed 70 episodes of it during EXAM WEEK). I actually just finished writing this chapter a couple of minutes ago. Instead of waiting 'til I'm halway through the next once like usual, I posted it ASAP since it's a bit late.

Furthermore, I'm going off on an airplane tomorrow for a six week holiday. Fear not! There is internet where I'm going and I'm taking my laptop with me. However, do expect large delays. For those of you who bothered to pay attention, I've been updating every five days (my mini deadline) and I'm a tad late today. Well, that pattern may well be thrown out the window. However, I'm hellbent on finishing this story since I'm not a hypocrite (I HATE DISCONTINUED STORIES!).

Thank you for all of the feedback for last chapter! You guys make me try my best to stick to my deadline. Well, I've drabbled on long enough (that is, if you even actually read this) so please ENJOY...

Chapter 5: Inter-division interaction, Natsume's Predicament

Ruka felt someone slap his cheeks lightly and he finally came to. "Hello! Ruka-sempai! It would be very unfavourable if you were to stay unconscious for the whole lesson." Ruka groaned as he recognised the voice and remembered why he had passed out in the first place.

Slowly opening his eyelids, he saw a few faces gathered around him. He recognised Makihiko and his glasses as well as Narumi, Natsume & Yuri (Natsume rushed over as soon as he saw his friend collapse) and Kitsuneme & some obese kid (they seemed to be nearby). He raised his head up and quickly patrolled the immediate area with his eyes. Not many others seemed to either care or notice.

"How long was I out," spoke Ruka finally. The question was directed at everyone, and was sparked by Natsume who had a very concerned face.

"Not long," answered Narumi, "only about four or five minutes." Ruka let out a breath.

His friends helped him back up and pretty soon, he was all good to go. Once everyone else had returned to their own business, Narumi began again, "Right, now that everything is fine again, we will begin the next activity. It is split into two parts and is all about stimulating some healthy inter-division socialisation." He was rubbing his hand together with glee.

"You've all got your partners and you are to stay with them for this activity, got it?" There was a murmur of agreement. "The first activity is all about your sempais! Elementary students, you must ask as much questions as you want about your middle school sempai within five minutes. Middle schoolers, you must answer them to the best of your ability. Try to make it easy and social."

Makihiko stared up at Ruka with hungry eyes. Out of nowhere, he produced a notepad and pen as he uttered, "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about Imai-sama?" Ruka froze. He had a feeling that a 'few' questions meant a 'few hundred'. The scenario automatically played out in his head. He cringed slightly at the possibility of awkward subjects. He entered a mild panic attack.

He whipped his head to Hotaru, asking for not only permission, but help. Ruka's mouth gaped when he saw Hotaru calmly talking to her student (a precocious looking grey haired boy). Next to her was a legible sign propped up on the ground, about a metre high. Ruka read it and his expression darkened. It said:

I will not be helping you out in your situation. I permit you expose promotive and non-personal information. Strictly the basics concerning our relationship and history. You may speak of my favourite activities, objects, animals, food etc. Make as many Rabbits as you can. Any information leaked out about undesirable topics will lead to my having to take a look through Punishment Pamphlet Number Four. Sincerely, Hotaru Imai

Despite the fact that the signpost was in plain sight, Ruka knew it was meant for him. How she knew about his situation, he did not know, but he learned not to question these things. Ruka paled as he saw the words 'Punishment Pamphlet Number Four'. It was the second most merciless compilation of threats, blackmail and cruelty she had stored. The first being number five and far surpassed any of Adolf Hitler's methods. What's worse is that it had a section specifically for him. Ruka shuddered, any speck of intent to break the said guidelines were exterminated.

He turned to the red haired boy. For a moment he felt bad for having to rip him off. Then he said, with his pen poised, "So have you and Imai-sama performed public displays of affection yet? If so, where and when?"

On second thought, I'll rob him blind.

"You may begin," announced Narumi as he slunk into a corner to silently and pleasurably observe. Ichigo and Nonoko turned to each other with excitable looks. They giggled a bit before beginning.

"So, Nonoko sempai, um, what do I say?" Ichigo started off a little weakly.

Nonoko smiled, "Whatever you want!"

Ichigo pondered a little bit. Then she realised that this was a wonderful chance to bond with her old friends. An idea popped into her head. Maybe she could bond with them as Mikan, just a bit. She proceeded to say, "Ne, Nonoko-sempai, you said I reminded you of one of your old friends. Is it okay if I ask who that is?"

"Of course!" Nonoko replied. "Her name was Mikan Sakura and your her spitting image! It's really amazing. I wonder if you two could be related..."

Ichigo responded without hesitation. She pouted, raised an eyebrow and looked up to the right, as if thinking hard. Shaking her head, she uttered, "Nope, sorry. I don't know a Mikan Sakura. But for you to say that, I must really look a lot like her." She laughed as she pointed to herself.

"I see, don't worry," Nonoko answered, "and yes, you are so similar! Except, she's much older." Ichigo mentally let out a sigh of relief. Nonoko completely fell for it. Hotaru was nothing short of stupendous. Ichigo nodded in acknowledgement.

"You probably have differences, it's just I haven't seen her in a while," Nonoko said thoughtfully. "Not since she was your age, actually."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, everyone misses her a lot," Nonoko voiced. Then she realised she may have drabbled on for a little too long, "Ah, sorry about this Ichigo-chan, I'm going on and on about someone you don't know."

"No, no, it's fine," Ichigo insisted. "It's actually interesting to know about someone who looks just like me. A little weird, but interesting anyway!" She grinned brightly.

Nonoko laughed, "You're so cute, Ichigo-chan! I'm sure Mikan would love you."

"Hm," Ichigo seemingly pondered. Suddenly her face lit up, "I've got an idea! You haven't seen this Mikan in a while right? And I look a lot like her. So let's play a game! I'll pretend to be Mikan and you can say what you want to her."

Nonoko seemed to consider it, "That's not awkward?"

"Nope," Ichigo shook her head, "Not at all, it's fun!"

"Well then, I guess it's okay."

Ichigo was now nodding, "Let's make it my question! It'd definitely be okay then."

Nonoko grinned and decided to play along, "So, Mikan, a lot has happened while you were gone..."

"So what would you like to know," Koko asked, "Mamiyu Katanagi?"

The cropped brown haired girl's eyes widened as Koko uttered her name. She didn't remember ever telling it to him. She narrowed her chocolate eyes, "How do you know my name, are you some sort of stalker?"

Koko shook his head innocently then raised a knowing finger, "Mind-reading Alice remember."

Mamiyu thought back to when Koko introduced himself and remembered his introduction. She seemed to realise the implications but merely grunted in acknowledgement. She didn't really like this kid, for all she knew, he was an expert stalker. What a violating Alice.

Koko pouted, "That's not very nice!"

Mamiyu froze. Caught in the act, she was. But before she could say or do anything to atone, her face once again turned icy. "You're reading my mind again! You are one big violation of privacy, fool!"

Koko's sweat dropped, "Well, do you at least wanna know anything about me?"

"Not in the least."

"But you just thought about asking how many people I've stalked."

"Wha- Grr! You read my mind again! And how can I not ask that when you have that Alice? Fool, just stop reading my mind!"

Koko chuckled nervously, this is going to be a long day.

Kitsuneme couldn't help but feel sorry for himself as he stared at the large boy before him. He was happily munching away at the fast depleting family chocolate bar. He didn't know what to say. The boy had completely ignored him for the entire time. On some strange instinct, Kitsuneme dared not interrupt the feasting boy. Thus, a few long and awkward – at least, for Kistuneme – went by before the boy finally gobbled up the last remnants of his chocolate bar.

The boy produced a moist towelette from beneath layers of blubber, apparently from a pocket. He wiped his face (though not very well) and proceeded to his hands after scrunching up the wrapper. All the while, Kitsuneme waited until the boy had finished.

"Um, hello there, I'm Kitsuneme," he began as he extended a hand. Realising that the boy had filthy hands, he retracted his arm right away.

The boy looked at him. And looked at him. And looked at him. Kitsuneme started to sweat. Finally after a long and suspenseful wait, the boy uttered, "Rafu." Kitsuneme gaped in bewilderment. What the hell?

"Excuse me?" Kitsuneme asked.

"Rafu."

"Rafu?"

"My name."

"Your name... is Rafu?"

He nodded, "Are you stupid or something?"

Kitsuneme's sweat dropped. "Ok."

"What's your Alice?"

"Flying," he said smugly.

"Oh."

"Oh?" He had expected a better reaction.

"Mine's similar."

"Oh," it was Kitsuneme's turn.

"Levitation."

"Levitation..."

"Want me to show you?"

"Alright."

The boy opened his hand and produced the used moist towelette. It floated up and away, dropping itself into the bin. He then proceeded to bin the wrapper and dispose of the crumbs. Another napkin floated out of his pocket (it had some difficulty overcoming the hindering fat) and began independently wiping away any of the chocolate that Rafu missed with his first attempt. Kitsuneme's eye twitched.

After everything was disposed of and his face and hands clean, Rafu said, "Pretty cool, huh? I use it all the time for everything. My Alice sure doesn't go to waste." Kitsuneme swallowed a lump in his throat. It's true, their Alices were increasingly similar... but for it to be abused like that... Kitsuneme wanted to jump off a building. He prided himself with his Alice and now he saw it being exploited to the max.

"What do you do with your Alice?" asked Rafu.

"Oh, well, um..."

After Ruka had recovered, Yuri and Natsume began their activity. Natsume didn't seem to show much interest. Yuri started, "So you have to Fire Alice, right?"

"Yep," Natsume answered half-heartedly. He glanced about the classroom, looking for a particular someone.

"So um, how old are you?"

Natsume turned to address his partner, "I'm fifteen next month." He resumed the search. Found her! She was with Nonoko, that was alright... I guess. Natsume would've much preferred to be the one with her, since that was the only reason he came in the first place. He sighed. Can't change things now. I his mind he began formulating a plan to at least get some time to talk to her.

"Do you know her?" Yuri's question caught Natsume off guard. Natsume whipped his head around to face the small girl. He crumpled his face in confusion – but moreso in hope that she wasn't referring to who he thought she was referring to. "Ichigo," she explained, confirming Natsume's thoughts, "you keep looking at her. Ever since you came into the class."

Natsume was defeated, there was little chance that he could get out of this predicament. He decided to be evasive instead. He knew the effort was futile, regardless, he asked, "I do?"

"Mmm," Yuri nodded, "with very sad and confused eyes, too."

Natsume froze. Was it really that obvious?

"It's not that obvious," she spoke out as if reading his thoughts, "you do a good job of hiding it. It's just my Alice. I can sense people emotions."

Natsume relaxed a little bit. That's good. But still, it didn't change the fact that this little girl could sense something was up. He examined her. She was looking at him with concern, head cocked slightly. She seemed slightly shy but very serene. For some strange reason, Natsume felt at ease with her.

"So do you know her?"

Natsume contemplated his answer. Ah, what the hell... He figured he'd tell her. He really needed to tell someone and Ruka was simply out of the question. He didn't really have anyone else... anymore. His gut told him to trust this girl and so he did.

Perhaps to some anti-climax, Natsume replied truthfully, "...no."

"But?" Yuri gently pressed.

Natsume submitted, "She reminds me of someone."

Yuri observed Natsume's features. "This someone," she said slowly, "was very special to you...?"

Natsume didn't reply. He didn't need to. "I see," Yuri said with sympathy. "You don't... see her any more?"

An emptiness reappeared in the pit of Natsume's stomach. He glanced back over at Ichigo, once again disbelieving of her similarity to Mikan. "Her name was Mikan Sakura." Yuri looked at him with understanding eyes. It actually felt a lot better to tell someone, even only this much.

He was acting so out of character that it surprised even him. How was he okay with all this? He suppressed the emptiness as a thought occurred to him, he looked back up at Yuri, then asked, "You can't just sense emotions can you?"

She smiled softly and shook her head. Natsume continued, "Am I right in guessing that you can control them too?" It made sense to Natsume. He knew how hard it was for him to even keep his composure thinking about Mikan, yet now it was so easy.

"To some extent, yes," she confirmed. Natsume wanted to thank the girl, but found that he didn't know how to express it. He didn't really thank people much. Out of the blue, Yuri said, "Your welcome."

Natsume was surprised, "I didn't know there was an emotion for gratitude."

"There isn't," Yuri answered, throwing Natsume into further fits of confusion. "That much was obvious in your face. I've gotten pretty good at reading them."

"Time's up kiddies!" Narumi called. "I hope you learnt a lot about your fellow sempais."

Nonoko finished up, "...oh and Ruka and Hotaru started dating."

For the first time that day, Ichigo lost it, "WHAT?"

That was a long one. So I guess I have an excuse. Natsume was a tad OOC here, but it was part of my plot and I didn't really know how to make him react otherwise. This chapter was fresh off the writing tablet and thus there may be a few errors. Point them out please, because my Beta has retired on me. As I said, expect delays (for I am going to see my three-year-old cousin)... BUT! Perhaps a review here and there can give me a friendly reminder. I love your reviews! Even those no word reviews (eg from last week: '=P') can make my day. Please review your thoughts, reactions or random smileys :)