Sorry for the late update. It was the last week of my stay overseas and it got really hectic. I hardly had time to write. However, just before I left I got a review (unexpected so yay) from PearlyWirly1 which reminded me to update. Thankfully, I had my laptop on the six hour flight which was surprisingly six hours ago. No wifi for me means writing fanfiction, so I managed to complete the story on the plane before going to sleep. Here you go guys!

Chapter 13: Ruka's Mind and Mikan. Tested.

~Flashback of the previous evening~

Hotaru, Mikan and Narumi were once again having a meeting. They were brushing up on the little details and briefing Mikan on things she needed to know. Things like what to say, what to do, paperwork to fill out, times for testing and such were exchanged. Of course, they had to be very thorough to get through to her.

They had just finished and the girls were on their way out the door when Narumi had an afterthought. "Imai-chan," he called, earning a sharp look from the student, "it's fine if your boyfriend knows about it too." He said it all in a light, dismissive and amused tone which irritated Hotaru.

She didn't know how he knew, but Hotaru herself could commend his snooping abilities. Had he not been... Narumi... she would probably have hired him. However, the news at hand wasn't something that entertained the young mastermind. She narrowed her eyes at him. He merely smiled warmly. Deciding not to get into any confrontations, she nodded curtly and rushed out the doorway.

She overtook Mikan who was quite delighted at having another close friend know her situation and rambled on as they proceeded to their dorms. Hotaru, however, hardly listened as she began to plot in her mind. This, she guessed, may actually be fun.

"Wha-!" Ruka was alarmed as he realised his best friend had just abandoned him. "Natsume!" He jumped out of his seat and poked his head out the door. Looking from left to right, he saw no one. He was already gone. "Where did he go?"

The blonde boy couldn't believe that his friend had just left him. Sure, he hadn't been skipping classes midway through that much any more but he always took Ruka with him! Ruka insisted. He didn't care if it affected his marks, he had to make sure he was there for his best friend. Lately, Ruka had been trying harder to be supportive of him now that he had Hotaru to attend to. It was proving to be more of a challenge than he thought, but he found it very worth it.

Then he goes and does this. However, Ruka had a inkling that this was probably less to do about their friendship and more to do about this conspiracy ongoing behind his back. It still bothered him that he didn't know. He gave an exasperated sigh as he made to recede back into the classroom.

Natsume obviously believed that it didn't concern Ruka and Ruka would just have to accept it. He really disliked being in the dark. With one last melancholic gaze down the hallway, he pulled back his head. But he stopped midway through the action.

He jumped when he saw Hotaru standing right next to him, as if he had been there the whole time, waiting expectantly. Ruka didn't notice at all. When did she get there? She glared at him with unreadable amethyst orbs before speaking, "Change your face; your expression is depressing. We have to go now, too, or else we'll be late. I didn't realise the time until Hyuuga left. Hurry up, before next period starts."

"...?" was Ruka's response, his mind had already been messed up enough by her today.

Hotaru rolled her eyes and started walking down the left of the hallway, "I'll explain everything on the way there, now quit gawking and follow." Remaining silent and marching after her like a mindless minion, Ruka listened like an overwhelmed toddler to the incomprehensible tale of Ichigo Hana.

Natsume strutted lazily down the empty hallways, making various turns towards the medical centre. With his hands in his pockets, he wondered how much of Mikan's medical tests he had missed. It was about ten or so minutes since they should have started but he had no idea how long they were supposed to go for.

He reached a T intersection in the hallways and was about the make a right turn when he collided with a speedily oncoming figure from his left. He staggered back whilst the figure, which was actually a person, had fallen onto the floor. Natsume instinctively put a hand to his slightly throbbing head. The person he had bumped into was travelling at some lightning speed to make that big of a collision.

"Owie," a female voice said and her scrambling could be heard clearly, "Oh, great! Now I'm really late!" Natsume's hand fell to his side as his head whipped down. He recognised this voice too well, even if it was more mature. Sure enough, he found an auburn haired girl sprawled not-so-gracefully on the floor and muttering things to herself.

"Mikan," Natsume noted fondly. She looked up and saw who it was, her look of anxiety and panic disappeared into delight. She beamed widely and quickly returned a greeting. Now easily regaining her composure, she was helped to her feet by the boy and soon they were back on their way.

"I should've known you'd be late," Natsume pondered out loud. "It's you, after all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she retorted. "Besides, I had a ton of paperwork to fill out."

"You plus paperwork? It really is no wonder..."

"...Hey!"

Mikan could see Natsume watching patiently through the glass. She was at least a quarter of an hour late and so initial procedures were carried out in a rushed manner. She was thankful that she received minimal scolding for her unpunctual manners and so she endured quietly as she was bustled about by nurses and the like.

People were checking things, attaching things, detaching things, telling her to do certain actions, measuring her, ushering her forwards and backwards and everywhere. Many things occurred in a matter of minutes. She was amazed that this was only the foremost part of her check up, with all the things they did to her; preparation for the real testing. It was only to check her general health and such.

Relief washed over the girl when she was finally dragged and dropped onto a hospital bed and told to wait for the doctor for further instruction. She settled warmly under the covers, noting that the hospital gown she had been made to change into was actually quite comfortable. She let out a breath and let herself relax. This could be better than she thought.

Allowing herself the time while waiting, she looked to Natsume who had always been observing through the glass. He hadn't been allowed inside for the preliminary check-ups, but that was fine since it only took ten minutes at most. Someone had informed him that he could come inside later on and for the most part of the check up.

She waved excitedly at him. He smirked. Mikan was glad that he came. His silent support did not go unappreciated by the girl and she felt extremely lucky to be the subject of his genuine care. Although, she wondered how on earth he was able to come during the middle of the day, and thoughts of him yet again breaking the rules made her suspicious. She tried to push the fact that he was doing it for her away. He was probably allowed, seeing as he was in-the-know, though she couldn't imagine anything stopping him from doing what he wanted anyway.

Mikan decided to take it as a compliment. She enjoyed having a guardian angel watching over her. Make that 'demonic guardian angel', she corrected as she remembered more than one unpleasant incident. She knew it didn't make sense, but it suited him all the same, since she hardly ever made sense anyway.

Just as the doctor entered the room, clipboard in hand and stethoscope around neck, Mikan noticed an ebony and blonde haired pair come into view through the glass. Her eyes widened considerably when she recognised both figures, especially the blonde one. She barely noticed two black haired students' amused faces from the perfect 'O' that her mouth had formed, she was way too busy staring at Ruka. Who was of course, staring with a similar expression back.

Mikan was aware that he was supposed to find out, but he really hadn't been expecting him here. Of course, this was probably a much, much greater shock to him than her. It was a pleasant surprise all the same...

The black headed visitors exchanged a couple of words. Natsume also didn't see this coming but he took it way more calmly than the patient within the room – who was actually aware of Ruka finding out. Hotaru explained it very briefly. He shrugged and continued watching Mikan, who was forced to look away from Ruka to have a discussion with the doctor.

The doctor was very friendly and seemed to know what he was doing. He kept everything simple, but it was clear that to do that he had to know his work expertly, which he did. Mikan was thankful for his simple explanation and listened intently. After the briefing was over, he asked, "Would you like me to let your friends in now?"

"Yes," she nodded politely, "please do."

Ruka followed everyone else through the door. The doctor had asked them to come inside and they all obliged. Hotaru and Ruka had been a bit late but it seemed that when they arrived, just the initial check-ups had been completed. Mikan was late... of course.

The overworked and overwhelmed cranium hidden beneath blonde locks threatened to fry. The poor thing had been bombarded with bombshells and was forced to take in information that it wasn't quite ready for. Even though many things had locked into place and much of his confusion was erased, Ruka's head ached. And yet, he willed it to function because he was determined to take in everything that happened, especially from now on.

Mikan. He couldn't stop looking at her. It was her, definitely and undoubtedly her. The Mikan that had changed his world, his best friend's world, and the world of everybody else she had come across. It was her in the flesh and a guilty blush – for he was next to his girlfriend – invaded his face.

True, he used to have a crush on her when they were kids, but he'd moved on after she'd left and he was positive that Hotaru was the one for him. But now, after seeing her all grown up... With porcelain like skin and long, soft auburn locks, her matured features seemed to glow. Ruka just couldn't help but turn pink.

He glanced nervously at Hotaru. But as he turned to face her he was blinded by a flash of light. Click! He saw lilac eyes examine a picture on the screen of her ever ready digital camera and her lips formed an upward curve, mischief written all over her features. "Oh yeah," she muttered to herself, "that's gonna sell real well. I'm going to be rich."

It was good to know that she cared in the slightest about Ruka checking out other girls. Well, Mikan was her best friend and she kinda, sort of trusted Ruka (sort of). Who am I kidding, she just didn't care at all. Ruka sweat-dropped at the highly likely thought. And yet, he was still crazy about her. The blackmail queen. First Natsume, now her. He was beginning to think he was a born masochist.

Pulling himself together, he once again examined Mikan. Hotaru had professionally explained the story on their way here, which is also why they took so long. At first, Ruka couldn't believe that Mikan somehow reverted to a kid, but he's learned that many things are possible in the Alice world. Staring at Mikan now, he somehow couldn't believe that she turned into a kid. It was as if, she really had just gone and come back years later as a fourteen year old.

The only thing that actually lead him to believe it was the sight of Ichigo Hana the other day. Which was apparently her. Not too surprising though, once you think about it. In fact, he considered himself a fool for not seeing it. Then again, nobody else did. So he was just as foolish as everyone else. What a comforting thought.

"Hotaru, Natsume, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan greeted, although Natsume had been with her the entire time.

Natsume didn't reply, Hotaru gave a tiny smile and Ruka, with a goofy grin, managed, "Uh, well... hey! Mikan!"

"Ruka-pyon! It's great to see you! I missed you and everyone so much."

"Ah, yeah," Ruka said while scratching the back of his head and looking away. "We all did too," he spoke earnestly and managed to face her with a weak smile.

"Oh, well, this is probably a lot of news for you. Sorry about my gushing. I'm just excited to see everyone again... as Mikan, you know." He nodded and didn't seem to be able to find words. Mikan smiled in understanding, "Just watch." He cocked his head questioningly.

"Are you ready, Miss Sakura?" the doctor asked to which she nodded. He handed her a wrapper and she laid it on the palm of her hand.

Natsume's crimson eyes grew larger as he uttered, "Is that...?"

Hotaru rolled her eyes, "Yes, and would you stop worrying like an overprotective parent every time? She took it yesterday and this morning already. You were there. She's fine. This is just for the records." Natsume always got worked up when it came to Gulliver's candy. However, he grunted and got off the case. This testing was important.

Ruka, being new to everything and all, had just only caught on. "You don't mean...!" he gulped, "Gulliver's candy? Even after everything!" He said it with similar concern and tone as Natsume. "Wait, what? She already had some for the past two days?"

"How else could she have gone to class in the mornings?" Hotaru voiced the painstakingly obvious fact.

"Oh... oh yeah," Ruka said in a defeated tone. "Please go easy on me, it's a lot to take in, okay?" Hotaru rolled her eyes again and nodded. Even she acknowledged that this was hard stuff for the average mind to comprehend.

"Well, here goes," Mikan took a deep breath before placing the candy into her mouth. Right before their eyes, Mikan shrank into a little girl of about twelve years. A very, very familiar sight for all the students in the room. Mikan examined her hands and nodded at their decreased size. She then made to look at her feet which were hidden beneath the hospital gown which was a couple of sizes too big now. Yes, she had successfully gotten younger.

The doctor scribbled a few things onto his clipboard, made nodding movements and rubbed his chin. After the silence that ensued, Ruka repeated the first words that his mind would register after having seen that, "Ichigo Hana."

It had been a couple of days since Mikan's first batch of tests. She had had to come in for the next three days after that. Natsume would constantly be present and Ruka and Hotaru would drop by shortly each day. Mikan was very glad to have more people know about her situation and she couldn't have picked anyone better than Ruka.

The results from the testing had been confirmed and she was a-okay. Narumi had also completed that necessary procedures for 'transferring back'. All her paperwork – thank the heavens – were filled out and approved. She had bade farewell to her elementary classmates. All the was left to do now was to transfer back.

She had already written a follow up postcard to her soon-to-be fellow middle schoolers, pinpointing the date of her arrival and details like that. She had heard from her friends that the class was becoming excited and anticipating her return. Mikan was astonished at how much they really missed her. Apparently even Permy was excited. Apparently.

One more detail: the said date of her return... was today. Correct, Mikan stood in the hallway outside of Middle School Class D. She stared up at the hardwood doors, unsure of what to expect beyond them. Her eyes trailed downwards and lingered on the brass doorknob. All she had to do was turn it and push. Why was she so hesitant? No, perhaps that wasn't the word. Giddy would probably be more appropriate. Anxious, too. Nervous, even more.

Mikan tried to focus on the more positive emotions she felt. Excitement. Anticipation. Longing. Her eyes sparkled. She puffed her cheeks and took one, huge, deep breath. Determination on her face, she grabbed the handle and twisted it. Here goes...

My apologies for yet another mini cliffhanger. It's not that I like them (a lot) but I had to end the chapter since I had to catch some Zs on the plane. I'm back home now, so hopefully, I can write a little more. However, there are some holiday school projects that require attention (yes, my school gives those out...) so just wait and see.

Finally, you guys will get the reunion you've all been wanting to see (personally, I have writers block for it, but it's inevitable, right?).

So, drop a review and motivate me to procrastinate on school and write for you :) They are always appreciated.