Edited 8/13/10: I added more to the mission and the scene between Mikan and Natsume longer. Enjoy.

Yosh! Here is chapter three of Rush~! Again, I thank you all for reviewing. Oh! And one more thing before I do the disclaimer and begin the chapter: Please stop by my profile and check out my other story – Stepping Out Of The Shadows! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

Happy Reading!

Rush

By Tsuki's Angel

~Chapter 3~

-Midnight Kiss-

Mikan stood on the ship's front, letting the salty sea air run through her long, flowing hair. It was getting a bit chilly; after all, her mission outfit was a bit…y'know. She watched as the island that the AAO headquarters was on came into view. It was a small, and had no port so she was beginning to guess that she was going to have to swim there or take a speedboat. The boat stopped when they were about a half of a mile away from the shore.

"Ma'am, you are to take the speedboat the rest of the way there," a man said.

Mikan nodded. She walked over to the back of the ship where the speedboat was located. She spotted it. It was hung over the edge of the boat. Mikan walked over to the edge of the boat and jumped over, using her arm as a pivot point. She threw one of her legs over the seat and got herself settled onto the speedboat. She took her hair and tied it into a ponytail before she picked up the helmet that was hanging from the handle, and placed it on her head. It covered her face, so she had to give the man a thumbs up to drop her into the sea, and he did.

The speedboat splashed into the water, and Mikan revved the engine, sending it flying. She enjoyed the feeling of being so…free. She let herself giggle like she would if she were the old Mikan. She felt the cool water splash against her bare legs, and she wished that she could take the helmet off so that she could feel it on her face, too, but she couldn't do that because, well, she was already there.

When Mikan's speedboat reached the shore of the island, she took the keys out of the ignition, put them in her pocket, and got off. She took her helmet off of her head and hung it up on the handle of the speedboat. She took out her ponytail and shook her hair, giving it volume.

Mikan began to walk, but before she could reach two feet in distance, her cell phone vibrated in her back pocket. She took it out and pressed the talk button, holding it to her ear and saying, "Yeah?"

"Mikan? This is Ivan. Isabella wouldn't quit worrying about you, so here I am calling you," he said, sounding tired.

Mikan heard Isabella asking questions in the background. She sighed, "Put her on," she said before she heard the phone being passed.

"Mikan? Mikan? Are you okay?" Isabella asked. Mikan rolled her eyes even though she couldn't see it.

"Yeah, I didn't even go into headquarters yet. I just drove a speedboat to the island," she said, nonchalantly.

"Well, be careful, okay? And don't use your Death Alice a lot and don't get yourself hurt like you did with the bomb and don't – " she said before Mikan interrupted her.

"I get it! I'll be careful. You sound like a doting mother. Now goodbye," she said, hanging up and putting the phone in her pocket.

Mikan headed for the headquarters. It was a bit scary, even for her. The building was like a skyscraper, and all its windows were tinted. It had tons of cameras installed outside, and was surrounded by a cement wall. She could easily jump over it, but she was guessing there was some kind of electric barrier caused by an Alice. She could easily break that though, having the Alice of Nullification and all. She began her mission by a running jump and used her Nullification Alice to get through. As soon as she was in, she quickly jumped into the nearest tree away from the view of the cameras.

"Thank goodness," Mikan muttered to herself when she noticed that nothing had gone amiss.

Mikan jumped down from the tree and hid behind the side of the building. She looked up and decided to break through one of the windows. She took a step back and ran towards the building, jumping then momentarily running up the side of the building. She then grabbed a ledge and cut through a window after she made sure nobody was inside the room it led to. She made the hole a little smaller than she had planned, but she slid through it. As soon as she was in the room, she received a text. She checked her phone.

AAO374289000005

Mikan didn't know what it was at first but she assumed it was a code for something. She couldn't go waltzing around the AAO headquarters in the open. She had to be hidden. She decided to use the ceilings.

Mikan used a nearby desk and jumped, kicking a ceiling tile and flipping into the hole she made. It was pretty dark. She clicked on her mini-flashlight that was on her keychain that held the key to her speedboat. She held it in her mouth while she replaced the ceiling tile, so nothing looked wrong if someone entered the room. She sighed as she looked ahead. It looked like she was going to have to crawl on all fours.

Keeping the small flashlight in her mouth, Mikan used her sense of direction to get to her destination – the weapons room. Her mission was to set off all the bombs, destroying the headquarters. She just hoped there was an easy exit so that when she set off all of the bombs, she didn't die, but there was not going to be an easy exit. She knew it. It was just her luck.

"The count of the bombs are twelve thousand at the moment," she heard a man's voice say from below me. She was right above the weapons room.

"Report to the chief," said another voice.

Mikan knew she couldn't just jump in there and set off all the bombs. If she did, the security would go off. She had to go around the room and through the door. She started crawling towards the hall, and removed one of the ceiling tiles, making sure nobody was there. The coast was clear. She put away her flashlight and jumped down. To tell the truth, she was growing suspicious. Everything was quiet, and a bit too quiet for her taste. She took a step in the weapons room, and the security alarm went off.

"Oh crap," she said.

Of course, the floors had infrared laser beams. There were immediately guards standing all around her, coming from each end of the hallway. Mikan took out her gun and immediately without hesitation, shot them. She was beginning to fear that she didn't have enough shots. She killed all of the men coming from one end of the hallway and ran as fast as she could. She ran into an open room and shut the door. She had to hide. Anywhere. She quickly ran out onto the balcony and shut the door behind her. They wouldn't find her now, hopefully. This was going to be harder than she thought it would be. She was beginning to wonder if she could actually complete the mission.

She shook her head. No, she thought. Of course I can complete this bloody mission. I have to.

Then, she heard voices. They were coming from the room. She held her breath and shut her eyes tight. She prayed that they didn't find her there.

"She doesn't seem to be here," a man's voice said.

"I think she went this way," said another.

Mikan heard footsteps retreating and after a while, she heard the alarm turn off. She sighed and entered the building again. She silently crept back out into the hallway. She had to be careful for the infrared lights, so she sprayed some liquid that made the lines appear. Mikan breathed in relief and she agilely and swiftly ran around the lights until she reached the weapons room. There were guards outside the room now, which she had not noticed before and they spotted her.

"There she is!"

Mikan had absolutely no better choice. She used her Ice Alice to freeze them on the spot, but it was too late. More guards were coming her way. She couldn't run away again. She ran up to the door and tried to open it. It was locked. Mikan remembered the code. She tried to take out her cell phone as quickly as she could but her hands were shaking. She found the code and entered it on the keypad. They were within yards from her just as she pressed 'enter'. The door clicked open.

"Stop her!"

They all came running after her. Mikan ran into the weapons room. It was huge. If she would've known better, this was more of a bomb factory rather than a headquarters. Mikan sprinted around the corner of the room, looking for the bombs. She couldn't find them.

Thankfully, she noticed that there was another door. She tried to open it, but of course it was locked. It didn't need a code, just a key, which she didn't have. She had to break down the door. She just didn't have the time. Instead, she created a white hot flame and melted the metal door down. Another alarm went off. She was getting tired of that. She smirked when she realized that she had found what she was looking for. Bombs as far as the eye can see.

"Target acquired," she said to herself.

Mikan used her Fire Alice to set off all of the bombs. She estimated there would be about thirty seconds before this whole place and everyone in it was to be dead. She now saw why this was the hardest mission yet. Mikan sprinted out of the weapon's room. The nearest exit was on the balcony she was on earlier. She ran towards that room. Mikan began to feel a little anemic on the way.

"Stop! Stop right there!" yelled many guards.

Mikan kept running. Did they really think she was going to stop? She heard a shot and felt searing pain in her left leg. She had been shot in the thigh. But, she couldn't stop then. She had to keep going. Mikan heard two more shots. One aimed for and hit her right arm and the other flit across her side. She ran still, but trailing blood behind her. At this point, the only thing keeping her from passing out was the fact that her Healing Alice was at work. It wasn't working as well as she would have liked, but it was all she could do.

Mikan reached the balcony, but she was a bit late. The bombs went off, and she was sent flying through the electric barrier that surrounded the building. Mikan quickly nullified the Alice barrier and landed in a tree. A damn tree. Currently, she was injured badly, but not badly enough to die. Whatever they shot into her thigh and arm was blocking her blood from gushing out, so she couldn't possibly bleed to death.

Mikan sat on a branch, watching the headquarters burn to the ground. AAO agents were running. The bloodshed in front of her was all caused by her. Mikan felt an awkward feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a while. She was beginning to feel sickened. She was a bloody murderer. She shut her eyes tight as she tried all over again to accept the fact.

Mikan jumped out of the tree and achingly walked to the shore. She jumped onto the speedboat and took off, leaving the burning island to fall into ashes. The cool spray of the water that felt like a sweet mist before now felt like tiny needles against her wounds. She was beginning to lose her line of vision. She quickened her speed to get to the boat faster—before she crashed it.

The boat was waiting for her about a mile off of the shore. She called a man to pick up the speedboat. As soon as she was in level with the boat, she jumped into it. The man caught sight of her and gasped.

"M-Ma'am! Are you okay?" he asked, horrified from the way she looked.

"Yeah. It was just my carelessness that brought me to look like this," Mikan replied stiffly.

"We must get you back to Gakuen Alice and to the hospital!" he yelled.

"Well, if you insi–" she started before she just simply passed out.

. . .

Mikan woke up to searing pain. What the heck were they doing to her? She wrenched her eyelids open and looked out the open window. It was dark outside. It must have been a couple hours since she passed out. She couldn't express the amount of relief she felt that the mission was over. Mikan turned around and found herself being treated to her side wound. Her arms were bandaged and put into a sling and her leg was bandaged and was supported by a pillow.

"Stop!" Mikan screamed.

The doctor jumped, obviously startled. "S-Sakura?"

"Mikan, you have to let her treat you," Ivan's voice said. Mikan turned to face him and Isabella. They were both standing there, looking tired as hell. Mikan was at a loss for words.

"Ivan's right, Mikan," Isabella reprimanded. "You have two bullet holes in you. Thankfully, there was a doctor with a strong Healing Alice that fixed most of it, so you should recover faster."

"And don't forget that nasty slit in your side," Ivan said. "What happened there?"

"Some retard had a bad aim and I guess the bullet only grazed against my skin," Mikan replied, only whispering now. It hurt to talk.

"You should get some more rest," Ivan said.

"The anesthesia wore off," Isabella commented. She turned to the doctor. "You should give her another dose."

Mikan's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? There isn't anything that would make me want to pass out again!" Mikan hated being unaware of things going on around her. "I'd rather sit through it! Don't you dare drug me!" she screamed. "Don't you dar–"

And she was engulfed by darkness.

. . .

Natsume was lying down on his bed. He couldn't sleep. He hadn't seen Mikan all day. What the heck was that girl doing? She was making him worry about her unnecessarily. Natsume got out of bed, and grabbed his iPod Touch. He couldn't stand not knowing what was happening to her. He decided to sneak out of the dorm. He needed some fresh air. Natsume snuck out of the dorm building and walked out into the cool, winter night. He didn't know where he was going. And he sure as hell didn't care, either.

Natsume went on walking for who knows how long before he got really cold. He really was an idiot for not bringing a coat. All he was wearing was jeans, a white and black layered long sleeved shirt, and some sneakers. He looked at the building in front of him. The hospital. He was about to walk back since it was getting too cold, that is until he heard someone scream.

And that someone was Mikan.

He would know her voice anywhere. It was coming from the hospital. Natsume raised her eyebrows. She seemed to be putting up quite a fight. Then, all of a sudden, she didn't say anymore. That worried him. Mikan doesn't shut up just like that. He had to go visit her. He had to see why she was in the hospital in the first place.

Natsume was going to have to sneak into the hospital because nobody can enter the hospital after visiting hours. He decided to go in after the hospital closed and most of the nurses and doctors went home, which was in about an hour. Natsume took a seat on a bench outside of the hospital. He changed the song on his iPod, and then leaned back on the bench. He felt the lack of sleep catch up to him. It made his eyelids droop and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

. . .

Natsume woke up to the lyrics of some song he didn't recognize. He clicked his iPod on and looked at the time. It was midnight. He slapped his forehead. He couldn't believe he had slept for two hours! Natsume quickly got up. He had completely missed his chance to sneak in through the door when it was unlocked. He was going to have to go through Mikan's window, now. Of course he remembered which one it was. It was the one on the end of the hospital, second floor, and lucky for him, the window was open. He climbed the tree nearby and jumped onto the windowsill. Natsume deftly hopped into Mikan's room. The lights weren't on, but the room was illuminated with the moonlight.

And there she was, sleeping soundly as if there wasn't a care in the world. She was propped up on a bunch of pillows. He was guessing she was fighting the urge to fall asleep, but fell asleep anyway. Natsume walked up to her bedside. She looked absolutely beautiful, that is, until he really caught sight of her. His eyes widened. She was practically a mummy with all of that gauze wrapped around her. Mikan's arm was bandaged up and in a sling, her leg was wrapped up and on a pillow, and she wasn't wearing a shirt. Natsume blanked at that part for a second before shaking that thought off. Her whole entire torso was wrapped up in gauze. She had bandages on her cheek, forehead, and neck area. Natsume sat down on the side of her bed. She moved. He stiffened. She just took in a ragged breath and fell back into her slumber.

"Mikan, what are you hiding from me?" Natsume asked agonizingly. He couldn't stand to watch her in this state. "What happened and who did this to you? Why are you hiding this from me? Do you hate me that much?" he muttered into the dark. He couldn't help it. He wanted the old Mikan back so badly. He just didn't know how. Natsume wanted to talk to her, and he wanted her to talk back to him the way she did back then. He took her fragile hand in his and kissed it lightly.

"I love you," he whispered, even though she couldn't hear a word he was saying. "I love you even though you hate me." The words flowed out suddenly. "I love you even though you're probably knocked out right now and can't hear me. I love you even though you've changed. I will always love you, Mikan, and that will never change."

Natsume didn't know what came over him, because the next thing he did was inexcusable. He didn't care, though. He cupped her small face in his hand and kissed her, full on the lips. He couldn't help it. The poor boy was just so in love with her. Mikan's breathing remained shallow, but her heart rate accelerated. Natsume didn't notice.

"Don't you ever tell anyone that I did that to you," he threatened.

Mikan smiled. Natsume's heart fluttered. He didn't know whether it was because the kiss woke her up or because she finally smiled at him.

"I won't," Mikan whispered.

Natsume blinked once, twice, and then he was completely taken aback. What she awake this entire time? If she was, he was in hell of a trouble. She couldn't have heard everything, could she?

"How long were you awake?" he asked.

Mikan seemed to pause before answering. "I woke up just now, when you kissed me," she replied, opening her eyes.

Natsume sighed in relief, "Oh," he said, trying not to show her how happy he was that she was talking to him.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked, nonchalantly, taking her hand back from him.

Natsume didn't realize he was smiling. He quickly cleared his throat, but when Mikan gave him an impatient look he sighed.

"What happened to you? You used to be annoyingly happy all the time, and now you don't even talk to us," he said. For just a half a second, Mikan showed regret and sadness on her face, but then it disappeared to a blank look. Her bangs shadowed her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered. "You shouldn't be here. I-I'm dangerous, Natsume. I don't want to hurt you…" Mikan sniffed. Her eyes were beginning to glaze over with moisture. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't even be t-talking to you. Y-you have to leave," she said, crying silently.

"No," he said, simply.

There was no way in hell he was leaving her. Not when he had her so close. Couldn't she see that he wanted her? Can't she see that every second he was apart from her, his heart ached with pain that seemed to vanish every single time he saw her face? She had no idea. Everything was being kept secret between them. As much as he hated to admit it, they were being torn apart.

"N-Natsume! You don't understand! Victoria and Persona will—" she said before she gasped and bit her lip.

Say what? Persona? Natsume's thoughts were instantly jumbled. He didn't know what was going on or why the words that came out of her mouth had to be those. This was getting even more complicated than I needed it to be! He should have never let her go five years ago.

"I won't ever leave you again," Natsume said. He was sincere. He knew what he was saying was the truth.

She was staring at him for a moment. "I can't make that same promise," she stated, throwing her head back on the pillow.

"And I care why…?" Natsume asked, his arrogant personality coming into play.

Mikan raised an eyebrow at him. Natsume really didn't change at all, did he? He did things on whim and his way. And he still was as stubborn as ever. His personality stuck with him. Mikan didn't mind this at all, surprisingly. She was glad that she could see this side of him every single day. This was the side that she met him in and it was part of him that she fell in love with. She bit her lip. There was so much he didn't know about her.

"Go back to your room," Mikan said, turning her head away from him.

"Is that an order? I don't like it. It's stupid. Change it," he commanded. She sighed.

"Fine," she said. "Leave me now, or I'll personally escort you to the window."

"Are you just naming ways of me leaving?" Natsume asked. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't know. Don't care. Get out of my room," she said.

Natsume sighed. She can be so impossible sometimes. "If you want me to leave so badly, you should kiss me goodnight." Natsume smirked. "And then maybe I'll oblige."

"Yeah, right," she said then paused. "If I do, will you really leave?"

Natsume thought about it then replied, "Maybe."

Suddenly, Mikan pulled Natsume by the shirt, and pressed her lips against his. Her eyes were gently shut and Natsume found himself kissing her back with equal passion. His eyes were closed as he gently pulled her by the waist to be flush against him. He tried not to hurt her but it was hard since he wanted her so close. Mikan held his cheek with the hand of her good arm. She was actually surprised as to how soft his lips were.

All good things have to come to an end so Mikan pulled back from him and pushed him away. Natsume looked dazed. Mikan looked away.

"Now, leave," she whispered. "Before I call someone and tell them you were taking advantage of me in my sleep."

"Do you really want me to leave that badly?" Natsume asked, raising an eyebrow. She glared at him.

"Yes, now get out before I make you," she said menacingly. Natsume shrugged.

"Whatever," he said. Natsume didn't want to leave, but she wanted him to, so he will. He got up and walked to the window. "Remember, though. You couldn't have told them I took advantage of you." Natsume smirked. "Because you kissed me back."

Her expression remained blank. He shook his head. She was no fun anymore. Natsume jumped out the window and into the tree. He started for his dorm.

. . .

As soon as he left, Mikan had crossed emotions. She didn't know what to do anymore. Maybe it would've been better if she never had come back to the academy. She wouldn't have seen him and she would be silently protecting him, out of sight and out of mind.

She also wished she hadn't kissed him because her heart was beating erratically and it hurt her side wound.

Sorry it was short. I wanted it to be longer, but I thought this was a good place to end. I am so tired and my laptop is too. T.T Boo… Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this! Reviews are appreciated! I love reviews!

V

V

V