AN: I would be changing a little of my writing form. Like things that are italicized are to be referred to as the character's thoughts.

I would like to say thanks to all those who reviewed that reached up to a hundred! Thanks you guys! U made me really happy. Hope that you would continue on reading my story. The story is pretty much made up in my head and I just cant find enough time to sit down and write all of the chapters.

Happy Holidays to everyone!!!

Disc: Not mine and it will never be.

Previously…

Persona slammed the car door at Mikan's face and the car sped off in its escape. Mikan looked back at where Persona got off and saw him walking calmly to the middle of the road.

"Well if he wants to get run over then its his problem!" Mikan said as she settled in the back seat.

Mikan looked at her driver. He was smiling again.

"What is it?"

"Hm? Oh. I just thought that you might be really special since Persona-san himself is escorting you. I'm very honored that I was given this mission. I was nervous at first that I would be working along Persona-san himself, usually I work with Kuro Neko-san."

"Huh? You work with Natsume?"

"Yup."

"What kind of work do you do Kino?"

"Oh that. Usually we transport important people to and from the academy."

"Does Natsume get hurt a lot?"

"Well, I cant say yes and I cant say no either. But he gets the job done." Kino smiled back at Mikan. "He sure has a very powerful alice that guy."

"Uhhmmm… Kino, may I ask, what's your alice?"

"My alice is… Invisibility."

-

-

"Invisibility?" Mikan asked again.

"Yup" Kino smiled back.

"So you mean that they cant see us anymore?"

"Now they can't." Just then an invisible wave swept through the car.

In Mikan's eyes, the car's form warped for a second and she blinked to see more clearly. "Uhmmm… Im sorry to say Kino-san but… I could still see the car."

"Oh don't worry Mikan-chan my alice forms an invisibility orb around me or an abject within proximity of me and to those outside of the orb they can't see what is inside but to those inside they could still see pretty much everything." Kino replied with a smile.

"Sugoi… Your alice is amazing Kino-san."

Kino blushed because of Mikan's compliment. "Well, it's a good enough job and the pay isn't bad. Oh! and I could drive like an F1 racer too. That's one of the perks."

Mikan laughed. "Oh that is true. The way you drive this thing around so fast and still smile and be so calm makes me think that you really enjoy this job." Mikan smiled but her smile wavered when a thought entered her mind. "At least you're able to help…" she ended in a whisper.

"Huh? What was that? I didn't quite catch what you said in the last part."

"Uhmm… Its nothing Kino-san." She smiled at him sadly.

"Mi-chan? May I ask something?"

"Sure Kino-san."

"May I ask what your alice is?" Kino asked in such a sweet voice that Mikan couldn't say no.

"It's Nullification and… and something else." Mikan replied weakly.

"Sugoi! You have two alices? That's so great!" Kino beamed while taking a peek at Mikan through the rear view mirror. What Kino didn't see was a lone tear sliding down Mikan's cheek, camouflaged by the shadows of the cab and passing trees and lights.

'Yes. My alice. My alice which was the cause of the AAO wanting me, the cause of why they attacked the Academy, the cause why a lot of people got hurt, the cause of why she was leaving her friends behind.' Mikan thought.

Kino took another peek at Mikan and saw her looking withdrawn. 'Why does she suddenly look so sad? Did I ask something wrong?' Kino thought. "Mikan-chan? I'm sorry if I offended you with asking such a trivial question."

Mikan deep in her thoughts haven't noticed the worried glances Kino was giving her. "Its okay Kino-san. You didn't do anything wrong." Mikan smiled warily back at the gray-haired driver.

"I really am truly sorry Mikan-chan. That's it! As payment for making you sad, I'm gonna bring you to the drop-off point earlier than expected so you wouldn't have to worry anymore."

"Eh???"

"Hold on to your boot straps, this is gonna be one hell of a ride!!!" and with that Kino sent the vehicle roaring as fast as the wind.

-

After a couple of minutes…

The car screeched to a stop and Kino jumped out to open Mikan's door. "Here we are Mikan-chan! I got you here safe and sound ne?" Kino smiled and looked at the back seat of the car where he found Mikan plastered to the leather seats in an awkward position. Her eyes were swirling, her mouth wide open like she was screaming, and her nails digging in the seat.

"Mikan-chan???"

After a few minutes of Kino shaking a dazed Mikan, she finally woke up from her shock. "Kino-san… What the hell was that about?!" She jumped up and grabbed Kino's collar and shook him angrily.

"Ehehehe. Sorry Mikan-chan but…"

"But what?!"

"My alice is intermittent so it's very hard for me to keep it going for a long time. I had to bring you here without being detected that's why I had to drive quickly."

Mikan stopped shaking him. "Oh! If that's the case…"

"But you still should have told me earlier!" Mikan began shaking Kino again that his eyes were starting to swirl.

"But… but I told you to hang on Mikan-chan…"

"That is a different matter you speed hungry idiot!"

Mikan was so busy shaking Kino's head off that she hadn't noticed where they were and the woman that was walking toward her.

"Uhmm… Excuse me, Sakura-san?" the woman stopped at Mikan's right side.

When Mikan saw her, she dropped the dizzy Kino and he slumped on the ground. "Yes?" Mikan smiled to the woman.

The woman smiled back and stifled a giggle while she looked at the barely conscious Kino. "May I have your luggage Sakura-san so that you may be able to board?"

"Oh! I think they're at the trunk of the car. Excuse me but board what exactly?" Mikan asked.

"The plane of course Sakura-san." The woman smiled back.

"What pla…" Mikan was not able to finish her sentence when she saw what the pretty woman was referring to. She glanced around and found out that they were in a landing strip and there on the tarmac was a private jet. "You mean that plane?" Mikan pointed to the jet.

"Hai. That plane."

Mikan's eyes were as wide as saucers. She never rode on a plane before and she was getting jittery about her lack of experience. She hasn't noticed that Kino already stood from where he was previously slumped and handed her bags to the woman who greeted them. They were silently exchanging nods while Mikan was admiring the plane.

"If you may Sakura-san, please follow me." The woman directed Mikan.

Mikan was a little anxious and looked back at Kino. "Don't worry Mikan-chan, Mizuki-chan is very nice and has been the trusted flight attendant of the Academy as long as I could remember." Kino smiled assuringly at her.

Mikan nodded her head and started following Mizuki to the plane. She looked back and waved a goodbye to Kino who was leaning against the car and did a two fingered salute to her. He saw Mikan giggle as she disappeared inside the plane.

Kino sighed. "I don't know why they want you outside the Academy Mikan-chan and why they even sent me and Persona to escort you, but I wish you luck." 'You must be very valuable… ' he thought.

-

Inside the plane…

After Mikan turned to wave goodbye to Kino, she saw what was inside the plane. It was beautiful, white leather and golden linings was the theme of the interior. Huge comfortable leather chairs were arranged in fours and facing each other. There was a mini bar and there was a long desk at one side. "Wow" Mikan gasped.

"You may take this seat Sakura-san." The flight attendant showed her to one of the plush seats.

"Oh, thank you." Mikan sat down and looked around the plane once more while Mizuki was arranging her luggage on the opposite side of her seat.

Mikan haven't noticed when the flight attendant left and came back with a drink in her hand. "Here Sakura-san, you should drink this. This would make you feel better during the flight."

Mikan accepted the drink and thanked Mizuki. She leaned her head back on her seat when at the corner of her eye she saw black bags at the foot of the desk on the opposite side. "Excuse me but whose bags are tho…" Mikan's vision started getting blurry and she was getting dizzy. After a few seconds she was fast asleep on her seat.

Mizuki smiled at the sleeping Mikan and started doing her seatbelts. "Hope you have a nice flight Sakura-san." She smiled and took her seat near the door of the plane.

-

Back at the Academy…

Hotaru was already awake and Subaru already told her of what Mikan said while she was still unconscious. 'Hmm… Mikan left the academy huh? That idiot! What did she do this time to be kicked out of the school? Tch. ' "Mikan you idiot!"

Hotaru looked at the clock in her room. 9:30pm. "Subaru said that Mikan came in at about 5 or 6 in the afternoon. She's long gone by now. Where are they gonna take her?'

Hotaru was still sitting in her hospital bed and wondering the possibilities of where Mikan could end up when she started taking off the bandages wrapped around her arms. "At least they didn't scar…" she said while inspecting her pristine ivory skin. She was still busy unwinding her bandages when her door burst open.

"Imai-san! We have to stop her!" Ruka burst inside Hotaru's room, sweating and panting. A few moments later a nurse came in and pleaded for Ruka to return to his room.

"Excuse me but you may leave the two of us alone." Hotaru said flatly to the worried nurse. "If anything happens to him then Subaru Imai will take the responsibility."

"Hai Imai-san." With that the nurse silently went out of the room. Leaving a baffled Ruka and an annoyed Hotaru inside the room.

"Ano… Arigato Imai-san" Ruka blushed and scratched his head.

"What are you talking about Nogi? Its Subaru's fault why he left and didn't lock the door."

"Oh…"

"Now, what were you raving about Nogi?"

Ruka's blushing face turned into an alarmed one. "Mikan! She's gone! She said she would be leaving and… and… we have to stop her!"

"Calm down Nogi. As what Subaru told me, I understood it that Mikan went on her own will."

"Bu-but she was crying! How could you say that she wasn't being forced?"

"Sometimes Nogi, the right thing to do isn't always the easy one. You must have noticed that Mikan was the only one in the fight that didn't end up in the hospital like us. There must be an explanation and her leaving the academy might be one of the consequences."

"Maybe you're right Imai-san." Ruka calmed down and looked defeated. He still couldn't believe that Mikan was no longer in the academy and that her overprotective best friend wasn't even worrying about it.

"Of course I'm right. Now, the only problem left is that guy."

"That… guy?" as Ruka was asking who Hotaru meant, they heard a loud explosion down the hall. The alarms were triggered, feet shuffled, and voices shouted outside Hotaru's door.

"As I've said, that guy." Hotaru looked at her door and then back at Ruka. "Nogi, may I ask why you went and barged in my room instead of Hyuuga's?"

"Uhmm… Because his room was locked…?"

"Figures… Get your robe Nogi, we need to knock some sense into a cat."

"Eh?"

-

In Natsume's room…

Natsume was having a dream. He dreamt that he was in the middle of a dark place and there was nobody around. He couldn't see anything. "Tch. Like I care that I'm alone." He crossed his arms and sat down on the floor.

After sitting down on the floor and concentrating on his predicament for a good few minutes, he noticed that the light surrounding him was getting wider. That was when he noticed that there was a little girl sitting back to back with him.

"Oi. Little girl, what are you doing here?" he glanced sideways to look at her. She looked like about 10 years old. She had long honey colored hair that covered the side of her face, so he couldn't fully see what she looked like.

"I thought that you were lonely." She replied. With her head still bent down.

"Hn. I'm not."

"People shouldn't be lonely, especially in a dark place like this."

"Some people should." After saying that, Natsume felt the girl stand up and ran towards the end of the light that was surrounding them.

"Oh! Flowers, they're so pretty." She was picking some flowers when she started reaching out for the flowers that were beyond the light that surrounded them, but she withdrew her outstretched hand,

"Afraid of the darkness little girl?" he smirked. Everyone is afraid of the darkness. He thought.

The girl giggled, but still kept her back at him. "I'm not afraid of the dark silly. I was worried that you might think that I would leave you."

The girl walked back towards him and held out her hand for him. "Let's get out of here Natsume-kun. Everyone's waiting." He finally saw her face. He finally saw her angelic face and her big bright smile. The face that always saved him from the darkness inside of him. The face that dragged him into the light and life.

But as he was reaching out to take her hand, his hand passed right through hers. He tried to grasp it for the second time but it was futile. He looked up to see her face. She was smiling sadly, tears rolling down her eyes. She was starting to fade.

"I'm sorry Natsume-kun. I have to."

"Mikan! Mikaaaaan!"

End of dream…

Natsume woke up with a start. Cold sweat was dripping down his temples. "Mikan."

"Where am I?" just then he felt a sharp pain in his head. "Ahhh…"

"How did I get here? Where's Ruka?" his mind was still cloudy and he was still confused about how he got there. He got annoyed with all the wires and tubes that were attached to his body that he started to yank them off. When he lifted his left hand, he noticed something that was enveloped by his own fingers.

He opened his hand and confusion turned to shock which quickly turned to anger as he read what the little note said.

"No…" he said through gritted teeth.

He quickly got out of bed, the only thought running through his head was finding HER.

The door was locked. Hn. As if doors could stop me. After a couple of seconds, the door was blasted off its hinges and Natsume darted out of his room. Everything happening around him was a blur. He could hear faint sounds of sirens, alarms, and voices but he didn't care.

The only thing he could remember was where he last saw her. Where she smiled so sweetly at him. Where he stood his ground to protect her, to protect their friends and to protect their home. And that place was where he was going.

He was getting close, he could feel it. But he could feel something else too. It was what it felt when he was given the gravest of missions. Assassinations. The feeling of death was overwhelming.

In the bright moonlight he could now see the middle school building. He was near. He rounded off at the bend and stopped to take in the scene. Clouds moved to give way to bright silvery moonlight.

His breath hitched. "What happened here?" he bent down and touched the grass at his feet. They cracked, they were dry, and they were dead. "How could this happen?"

He started to walk slowly towards the mound where he last fought the AAO, where he last saw her. Dead grass crunching beneath his feet. He looked around him and saw that even the trees near the area were dead.

At last he was at the mound where days ago he fought his best and found that he was at the center of all this death. "Mikan…"

He crouched low and pressed his hand to the ground. "She was here, the presence of her alice is still here. But how?"

'How could she do this?

Why did she leave?

Did I fail to protect her?

What I did wasn't enough for her to stay, for her to be happy?

I failed you Mikan… I failed to pay back the kindness you've given to me.

I deserve this…

I deserve to be left behind with all this death…

You should never have reached out your hand to me…

I did this to you…

its all my fault…

Rage was starting to boil inside of Natsume, he hated himself, he hated the AAO, he hated the academy.

As his anger raged on, his power started to spike up. His alice was begging to be let out. An invisible force emanated from him and swept through the field sending dry dead leaves into the air.

"This is where my last memories of you lie Mikan, I would never let anyone have it, it would only be mine to remember…" Just then, fire encircled Natsume, and after a second it spread out to the entire field, creating a firewall 10 feet high.

"Your memory will burn inside of me, never to be seen by anyone, along with my heart…"

Hotaru and Ruka stopped in their tracks when they saw the eerie glow of fire near the middle school building.

"Natsume…"

"Do you intend on standing there and just stare Nogi? Or are we going to go to your bestfriend and smack sense into him?" Hotaru raised her eyebrows in question.

"Hai. Imai-san." With that they started running towards the middle school building again.

They finally reached the edges of the flaming field and unfortunately, they weren't the only ones there. The huge fire attracted a lot of students and teachers to the site.

Her eyes scanned the surroundings for the presence of the person who probably started the fire. "He's not here, most probably he's still inside." She pointed her finger at the sea of fire infront of them.

Ruka heard what Hoaru said and followed her pointed finger.

Just then a surge of energy sent the fire more ablaze and sent embers and burning leaves to the sky.

The scene looked beautiful in Hotaru's eyes, except for the danger it presented to everyone there and to the whole academy.

Hotaru was still staring up at the flying embers when a silhouette started appearing amidst the flames. When that person finally stepped out of the raging fire, they saw him.

His school uniform was flapping wildly due to the power surging from him. The ends of his collar and sleeves were glowing, they were starting to burn but without hurting their owner.

Everyone started to step back, some even ran away. The only ones who stood their ground and faced the person who emerged from the flames were Hotaru and Ruka.

Natsume stopped a few yards away from the flames. Burning embers and leaves started falling from the sky and swirled around him. His mind was blank. All he could feel was pain and rage. Anger that erased any other emotion he had.

Hotaru saw his glazed eyes. Saw a tear slide down his cheek before it disappeared in the flames. Saw how his composure crumble as he fell to his knees. Saw how much it hurt him now that SHE was gone, when he fell on his face on the ground.

She saw Ruka rush to Natsume's side, tried to touch him, and jerked his hand away. Most probably burned. "Idiot…"

However, Hotaru wondered. With all this going on, throughout all this ruckus. Something wasn't right. Something was missing… he always appeared whenever Natsume was involved. He always meddled in Natsume's affairs.

"Where's Persona?"

-

AN: Hey guys! hope you liked that one. sorry it took so long for me to update, i got sick. but the reviews kept me going and that was how i finished this chapter.

Dont forget to review okay. you know it really makes me happy.