Revealed

Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

Chapter being edited a little, for those who have read this chapter, there is no need to read it again.

There was an awkward silence in the room as Mikan tried to process the words which came out of Natsume's mouth. Had she heard right? How did he know? What was she going to do?

"Wh-Wh-What?" she managed to say before she caught the sight of her reflection in a nearby mirror. Mikan saw her chestnut-coloured locks draping her back and immediately, her eyes widened. Mikan looked back into the shower to find her wig placed next to the sink. She had forgotten to wear it, what a fantastic way to get caught out.

"Well, you look pretty cute as a girl," Natsume teased, unaware or pretending to be unawaure, of Mikan's distress.

"D-D-Don't tell anyone ok, about that I'm a girl!"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"B-Because if someone knows, and it spreads, I'll definitely get kicked out of Alice Academy, so please!"

"Stop stuttering, and I won't tell anyone. It's no fun that way; this is a secret between us, our secret."

Mikan vaguely felt her eyebrow twitch. "Please stop making it sound romantic."

A half-smile appeared on his face just as the door swung open. Ruka and Hotaru standing together were to be seen in the midst of the door. Ruka's eyes widened at the sight of Mikan with her hair down while Hotaru just sighed, as if she was expecting this.

"Your secret's out already?" Hotaru asked earning a small nod from Mikan. Hotaru rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless, I mean, getting caught out because you forgot to wear your stupid wig?"

Mikan stuck out her bottom lip in protest. "But you didn't have to wear a wig because you already had short hair, so you can't say that!"

"Anyways, shouldn't we like take into consideration of the poor guy standing next to me who looks like he's been hit by a truck or something? I see we have no choice but to tell them, I'll do the explaining," Hotaru said while seating herself in a chair and crossing her legs. She sure liked taking the spotlight.

They had just come back from dinner downstairs in the dining hall. Natsume was sitting on a chair with his feet propped up on the table, Mikan on her bed, Hotaru devising a new plan to earn money and Ruka, sitting tensely on the edge of a chair. Mikan rolled over on her bed and watched the face of Ruka intently. His facial expressions were constantly changing, one moment it was nervousness, the next embarrassment and so on. Mikan glanced Natsume's way to see his reaction; however his face was hidden by the manga he was reading.

"I-I feel kind of nervous like b-being in the same room with g-g-girls," Ruka said for the hundredth time, his face pink with a slight blush. At the corner of Mikan's eye, she saw a glint in Hotaru's eyes and suddenly, there was a flash and Hotaru was to be seen with a camera in her hand, smiling smugly at the photo she had just taken.

"This is going to sell well with the girls in the private school next to us," Hotaru said to herself, dollar signs appearing in her violet eyes.

"Give me that camera!" Ruka cried and leapt for it. Hotaru dashed out of the room with Ruka trailing close behind her. The door slammed shut, leaving Natsume and Mikan alone in the room. Mikan rolled over on her bed and tried to ignore the silence in the room. She wracked her brains to think of something to say, however nothing came to mind. Surprisingly, it was Natsume who broke the silence.

"Hey Polka," he said smoothly.

"Polka?"

"Polka Dots, the pattern on the underwear you showed me."

"I never showed you my underwear! Wait, was it possibly earlier on the day when I was getting ready for the shower?"

"Mmhhm."

Mikan's eyes widened and her face turned bright red. "Y-You pervert!"

"No, I told you, you showed me. I didn't want to see your stupid underwear."

Mikan opened her mouth for some counter-attack, however nothing came into mind. She frowned and remained silent.

"So, what do you want?" she asked and pulled the blankets over her head.

"I was thinking instead of sitting with nothing to do, I'll help you train, for basketball."

Mikan's head popped out from the bundle of blankets and she stared at him.

"What?" Natsume asked and raised an eyebrow. Mikan shook her head and scrambled out from her cocoon of blankets.

"I'm going to go change, I don't want to play basketball in my school uniform," Mikan informed him while looking around for something she could wear.

Natsume hopped off of his chair and stood up. "Same, you can take the bathroom, I'll change here. Don't come out until I tell you."

Mikan rolled her eyes. "I don't need you to tell me that."

Mikan closed the bathroom door and looked for a lock. It didn't have one. She wondered if she could trust Natsume to not come barging in.

"The bathroom door doesn't have a lock, don't let anyone near the bathroom, ok?" Mikan called and clenched her clothes tightly. What if Natsume decided to make use of the lock-less bathroom and do something inappropriate? Mikan shook her head; Natsume wouldn't do something like that.

"Yes, yes," Natsume replied.

"One yes is enough! And, don't come in, okay?"

"I won't. I mean, there's nothing to see anyways. Your chest is as flat as a boy's, but that's good for you as otherwise you wouldn't have been able to get into this school."

"Shut up!"

Mikan heard Natsume laugh and she sighed in relief. Natsume wasn't as bad as she thought. She replayed the sound of Natsume's quiet laugh in her head, marvelling at how good it sounded before she realised what she was doing. Shaking her head in disbelief, she unfolded her clothes.

"I'm done, you can come out now," Natsume called.

"Wait, I haven't even started!"

"Hurry up then Polka-dotted snail."

Mikan slipped into a pair of pants and pulled on a shirt before rushing outside. Waiting near the door was Natsume who was wearing a loose jacket over a black shirt. He had a sports bag casually slung over one shoulder and a hand in the pocket of his scruffy jeans.

"You should wear something over that shirt, it's cold outside," he suggested.

"Oh, it is? Ok, one moment, I need to look for a jacket," Mikan replied while fitting the wig on her head.

Natsume sighed before taking off his jacket and tossing it to Mikan. "Here, wear this and don't waste more time."

"What about you?"

Natsume picked up a jacket lying nearby on the table and grinned. "That's a good thing about leaving your things all over the place."

Mikan hugged the jacket closer as a frigid wind sent chills down her spine. She blushed slightly at the thought that it was Natsume's, however got rid of that thought as quickly as it came. His jacket was warm, possibly from him wearing it before. Thinking that, another blush threatened to arise, however she shook it away quickly before Natsume noticed.

"What are you shaking your head constantly for?" he asked, looking at Mikan strangely.

"Nothing."

Natsume didn't seem to buy it, however he changed topics. "If you're a girl, then Yukihara Ren isn't your real name right? Didn't you once call yourself…Mikan? That's it isn't it?"

Mikan nodded and walked around a corner, the gym was to be seen now. It looked magnificent with all the lights on; it wasn't your average gym which you expect to find in a school, it was the type that national sports teams competed in. Mikan's mouth hung slightly open in amazement, however she quickly closed it when she realised that she was letting the frigid air in.

"We're allowed to go in right?" she asked.

"Of course, this is a sports school; practicing is more than welcome."

Mikan stepped into the gym and her eyes lit up. It was like a real stadium with its big lights illuminated every corner. There already were a couple of people, however the gym was largely empty.

"Firstly, I need to work out your strengths and weaknesses," Natsume said while dropping his sports bag onto the floor. "And you'd better watch out, my training is tough."

The next day was Saturday, meaning no classes. Sunlight trickled in though the crack in the blinds and a cool wind danced in, ruffling Mikan's hair. It was so comfortable to not wear a wig now that her roommates already discovered her secret. Mikan lay sprawled on her bed, her blankets wrapped randomly around her. A tiny trail of sleep drool was evident on her pillow and mouth as she opened one of her eyes, Natsume's training had been tough, causing her to sleep like the dead. The first thing she saw was the white ceiling, and then Natsume who was on the bed next to her, reading something, presumably manga. He looked up and his bed hair flopped messily over his face.

"Oh, so you're awake, that's a shame," he said and got up.

"Good morning to you too. Also, where's Hotaru?"

"Imai and Ruka are downstairs in the dining hall, they're having breakfast."

"Why are you here then?"

Natsume sighed. "Who cares why I'm here. Anyways, it's too late to go down to the dining hall now, I'll cook."

Mikan didn't bother hiding the look of surprise on her face. "You can cook?"

"Quit asking stupid questions and change out of your teddy bear pyjamas, Polka Dots." After saying that, Natsume disappeared into the kitchen and the sound of cupboards opening could be heard. After lying in bed for another few minutes, Mikan took a t-shirt, jumper and pants before slowly lumbering into the bathroom. As she changed, she came to the conclusion that guys had a very limited choice of clothing compared to girls. She smoothed down her hair and walked to the kitchen. Before she saw the pancakes piled neatly on the plates, she smelt them.

"Pancakes!" Mikan exclaimed happily. Natsume turned around, holding a pan with a half-cooked pancake in it.

"Oh, you can eat first, I'll be done in a few minutes," he said and placed the pan on the stove. The first bite Mikan took of the pancakes, took her by surprise. The fluffiness and lightness of it was comparable to her mother's pancakes. Closing her eyes in delight, she took another bite.

"These are amazing, I never knew you could cook so well," she breathed as Natsume laid another pancake on top of the small pile he had in the middle of the table.

"That's good, and these weren't really that hard to cook. You just pour the mix into the pan and put it over the heat," Natsume stated and sat down. Mikan noticed that he didn't have plate or fork.

"Hey, aren't you going to eat?" she asked while savouring another bite. Natsume shook his head.

"I don't like sweet stuff, I have a sandwich," he said and pulled out a sandwich, seemingly out of nowhere.

Mikan cocked her head. "Why did you cook pancakes then?"

"Imai told me you like them."

The pancake on its way to Mikan's mouth stopped half-way. Did Natsume cook them because she liked them? She could feel her face getting hot and did her best to cover it; however nothing went unnoticed by Natsume.

"Don't get me wrong, Imai told me to cook for you since I had nothing to do anyways," he sighed and took a bite of his sandwich. Mikan let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. It was weird when Natsume was actually considerate. Suddenly, there were several loud knocks on the door.

"Coming!" Mikan yelled and jogged to the door before yanking it open to reveal Tsubasa and the basketball gang standing outside the door.

"Oh hi," Mikan greeted. Tsubasa's mouth dropped open and the rest followed in a similar manner.

"H-H-H-H-Hair?" Shinji stammered, his eyes almost as wide as Tsubasa's mouth. Mikan was confused, what was so surprising about hair? It wasn't as if she was bald before. She raised her hand to her head to see if there was anything strange on her head, when she realised that she hadn't worn her wig. It was her turn to be surprised, her mouth dropped and her eyes were as wide as Shinji's. Wide-eyed, she and the basketball team stood facing each other for a few moments before Natsume sauntered over and broke the silence. It was rare for him to break the silence, but Mikan was grateful for it.

"Yo, guys. Surprised? You guys should come in, if you're waiting for an explanation," Natsume coolly said. Mikan marvelled his calmness as the basketball team filed in. Mikan had always thought that her room was humongous, however with the whole basketball team inside, it was a bare fit.

"So, where should I start?" Mikan began.

"You start at the beginning of course, plus, don't make it sound as if the story's very long because it isn't," Natsume snapped impatiently, earning a few laughs.

Tsubasa and the others had initially come to ask Natsume and her if they wanted to hang out somewhere fun before they'd discovered Mikan's secret. After they had heard she was a girl, the basketball team were absolutely against the idea of Mikan going out with them dressed as a boy for some reason.

"No is no! I want her to be herself when she's having fun with us!" Koko protested.

"Or is it because you like the idea of going out with a girl eh?" Tsubasa teased.

"But what if someone sees her as a girl and recognises her?" Hideaki asked, always the calm one.

"Then, can't we say that she's Ren's sister?" Shinji suggested, his boyish face full of hope. It seemed that they didn't get to see girls very often.

"Yes! See, no reason why she has to disguise as a boy now! Plus, I'm sure wearing a wig must feel bad, so I bet that Mikan will be happy to not disguise too!" Koko added, not even bothering to ask Mikan if it was true or not. It was true that Mikan hated the wig because of many reasons, but she still didn't like being forgotten. She glanced over at Natsume who had his manga over his head again. At least one person didn't seem to mind.

Soon, everyone was prepared and ready to go, it had been decided, without Mikan, that she didn't have to disguise. The basketball team made their way to the bus stop outside the Alice Academy which was already crowded with students.

"So where're we going to go?" Tsubasa asked while looking at the bus timetable.

"Swimming pool."

"Amusement park."

"Movies."

"Buffet."

"Restaurant."

"Hot Potting!"

"Why's this all food?"

"Fine then, bowling!"

"No more sports."

"Umm…..sitting?"

"Be quiet would you, Shinji."

They spent the next hour or so arguing until Tsubasa came to a sudden realisation. If they didn't catch the next bus, then they wouldn't have enough time to do anything as the school had a rule that students who went out had to be back by six in the evening.

"We have to catch the next bus! Otherwise, we can't go," he called out to everyone just as a bus rocked up. Causing a ruckus, the basketball team pushed into the bus and coincidentally, Mikan got the spot next to Natsume. He was looking outside the window with his earphones in his ears. A small breeze ruffled his hair and the aura around him almost seemed gentle. Mikan shifted uncomfortably at the closeness of him while Tsubasa and the others chatted away happily. Suddenly, the bus jerked, causing Mikan's shoulder to touch Natsume's. She jerked backwards at their contact and her face flushed red. Why was this so much like a date?

-Mystical Ace

Reviews are appreciated. =)