Mikan stumbled out of the bus and took several deep breaths, enjoying the fresh air outside. It had been too suffocating inside the bus, due to a variety of reasons, Natsume as the main one. He sauntered out and looked around with his hands in his pockets as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"So this is the fun place we're going to, is an amusement park?" Natsume scoffed haughtily and ran his fingers through his ebony hair. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mikan jumping up and down with her eyes shining.

"You're such a kid," he sighed.

"I'm not! You're just a grandpa," Mikan retorted and glared at Natsume who shook it off casually.

"Man, I have to agree with Ren, I mean Mikan, on this one. An amusement park? I can't believe our luck, if that bus took us to some random shopping centre, I would have killed myself," Tsubasa laughed and faced the amusement park with a sense of superiority around him. A giant roller coaster stood grandly in the distant, colourful banners and balloons were everywhere and people of all ages were to be seen. The whole park had a very strong festive atmosphere to it.

"Let's go, let's go! Hurry up!" Mikan shouted excitedly and waved her hands while running ahead. As enthusiastic as she was before she entered the amusement park, she was even more enthusiastic in the actual park. Ride after ride, Mikan had the time of her life. There were times when her legs shook at the sight of a ride; however she still went on it and stumbled off with her legs wobbly again.

"Hey Mikan, let's stop for a while and have lunch. Shinji's been bugging me about his stomach for hours now," Tsubasa said and caught Mikan as she tripped over her own feet. Mikan weakly nodded and followed Tsubasa to a nearby food plaza. She plonked down and rested her head on the table, enjoying its cool temperature.

"That's what you get for being over-enthusiastic," Natsume said and ignored the waitress beside him who was gazing intently at him.

"I don't want to hear that from a person who sat on a bench for most of the time," Mikan moaned and eagerly gulped down the iced water in front of her.

"I'll have this thanks," Natsume said to the waiter.

Mikan stuck out her bottom lip. "Don't ignore me, and I'll have this one." Mikan pointed to a certain dish on the menu and the waitress nodded, casted one lingering glance at Natsume before moving on to the others. Soon, the food arrived and at the sight of it, Mikan made a full and swift recovery. She took the spoon with her eyes portraying nothing but excitement and began eating.

"Strange person," Natsume said.

"Let's go on this ride next!" Shinji called, pointing to the giant roller coaster.

"U-Um…I think I'll pass," Mikan said.

Tsubasa looked worriedly at the roller coaster then at Mikan. "Are you feeling sick?"

"Stupid girl, going on all those rides and eating all that food," Natsume remarked. Mikan's ears pricked up at the word 'stupid' and she glared at Natsume.

"I think I'll leave first, I'm kind of tired," Mikan said and picked up her backpack that all of a sudden seemed heaps heavier than before.

"Oh, okay. Awww…it won't be as fun without you," Tsubasa moaned before recovering and patting Mikan lightly on the head before giving her a light push to the exit.

"I'll see you back at school, have fun," Mikan called as she walked to the entrance. She turned her back to the group and looked up at the sky before sighing. It was kind of lonely without them. She let out a sigh and walked on.

"Yo."

Mikan let out a yelp and jumped back, her eyes wide. Her immediately hand flew to her heart which was beating erratically and she eyed the person who had suddenly appeared. Midnight coloured hair, crimson eyes and a tall figure? It wasn't that hard to figure out who it was.

"You idiot! Don't scare me like that!" Mikan shrieked and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"You're the idiot, who gets scared over such a thing? Anyways, I'm going back too," Natsume said with both hands in his pockets.

"Why?"

"It's a waste of time in the amusement anyways, I'd rather go back and sleep. You have a problem?"

Mikan sighed. "No, let's go then."

They walked slowly to the bus stop and as usual, there was no conversation, however Mikan had already gotten used to it. She seated herself on the seat the bus stop supplied while Natsume eyed the timetable.

"Next bus is in five minutes," he said and leaned against a nearby pole. He fished out his phone from his pocket and began texting someone. Mikan wondered who it was while swinging her legs and occasionally kicking a small rock. A car zoomed by, stirring up the wind and sending several leaves flying. After a few minutes, as Natsume had said, the bus rocked up and its door creakily opened. Mikan, who was staring off into space then, stood up abruptly and scrambled after Natsume onto the bus. She hurriedly paid the fare before looking for a seat.

"Seat, seat, seat," Mikan murmured and her eyes lit up when she spotted one near the back. She stumbled a bit when the bus began moving, however managed to get to the seat without falling. Mikan collapsed into the seat and enjoyed the relief that her legs needed. A trip to the amusement park had been extremely tiring, especially for someone who went on every ride they saw.

"What took you so long to realise the bus was here?" someone nearby asked. Mikan looked to her left and saw Natsume across the aisle.

"It's none of your business," Mikan replied and looked away. The bus's methodical swaying left her eyelids heavy and a wave of fatigue took over. Her vision blurred and Mikan lost her grip on reality, slipping into a dreamless sleep.

Natsume looked over and saw Mikan's head lolling on the shoulder of the person next to her. The person looked up, surprised to see a head on his shoulder and Natsume looked away and wondered what he should do. However, without him meaning to, his eyes managed to find their way back to Mikan. A slight frown appeared on his usually smooth brow and for some reason, he felt agitated. Gritting his teeth, Natsume stood up and approached the person whose shoulder was occupied by Mikan's small head.

…

A sharp jolt from the bus awoke Mikan from her sleep. She drowsily opened her eyes and glanced around, the light hurting her unaccustomed eyes. As she looked around, Mikan wondered why Natsume seemed to be taking up a lot of her vision before she realised that he was only centimetres away from her face. Her eyes widened and she automatically jerked back, hitting the window behind her.

"You're finally awake. Your head's so heavy, my shoulder's all sore now," Natsume muttered while stretching his shoulders.

"D-Did I sleep on you?" Mikan asked and stared at him with eyes as wide as saucers while dreading the answer.

"Yes, and I think you managed to get drool on me too."

"I don't drool while I sleep! And….how? You were sitting over there, how did you get over here…?"

Natsume sighed. "So clueless aren't you? Well, the unlucky person who had to bear the weight of your head was frantically looking around for help. He managed to catch my eye and I, who was feeling sympathetic then, decided to swap places with him. He gladly swapped and then I had to have a heavy head on my shoulder instead. Get it?"

Mikan nodded slowly and looked over Natsume's shoulder to see the person who had been next to her, in Natsume's seat. She smiled awkwardly at him when he looked over. The person had light-coloured hair that was cropped so that the hair didn't interfere with his eyesight. He pushed up his glasses and shyly smiled back.

"Sorry about sleeping on you," Mikan said guiltily.

"It's ok, I was just unaccustomed to having someone on my shoulder, also, I'm Yuu Tobita," he said. "Your boyfriend seemed a little jealous, so I swapped seats with him. You should be happy to have such a nice boyfriend."

Natsume stiffened visibly. Mikan was confused, how come what Natsume had said didn't match up with what this person was saying? She looked at Natsume who revealed nothing on his stony face.

"Well, such a nice conversation you two are having, sorry to interrupt it, but we have to get off now," Natsume said and grabbed Mikan by the wrist before dragging her off the bus.

"W-Wait! What are you doing? This isn't our stop!" she cried as the bus doors shut firmly behind her. Mikan looked around to see a small shopping centre and park that she had never seen before.

"Don't listen to that nonsense the guy was spouting, he was just embarrassed about swapping places with me," Natsume said stormily and let go of Mikan's wrist, which was starting to hurt from his tight grip. She shook her hand gingerly and sent an accusing glare at Natsume who ignored it.

"Anyways, why did you get off at this stop?" Mikan asked angrily.

"This is the place I wanted to stop by before we returned to school," Natsume lied smoothly while looking around.

"So where did you want to go?"

"Hm…"

"Hm?"

"Be quiet, I'm thinking."

"You're thinking about where to go? Doesn't that mean that you didn't have a place you wanted to stop by? So basically, we're in the middle of nowhere?"

"Stop talking and I do know where I want to go. I need to buy my sister, Aoi, a present for her birthday."

Saying that, Natsume began walking at a brisk pace to the shopping town.

"W-Wait! And, you had a sister?!" Mikan shouted and ran after him, her hand tightly clutching her bag that was bouncing against her thighs.

….

Mikan entered the shop and all soft toys of different shapes and sizes could be seen. Teddy bears, owls, whales and many other animals were organised neatly on shelves and display stands. There was a faint cinnamon scent in the store that was pleasant and added to the rustic feeling of the store.

"Wow! I never knew such a cool shop existed before!" Mikan breathed and took in every detail around her.

"I never knew that either," Natsume muttered under his breath. He bent down and picked up a light chocolate brown bear that had a red ribbon tied around its neck.

"Do you think Aoi would like this?" Natsume asked. Mikan turned around and her eyes widened at the sight of something. She rushed past Natsume, ignoring or forgetting about his question. Annoyed, he turned around to see Mikan hugging a giant salamander toy. Somehow, there seemed to be sparkles around her.

"Forget I ever asked you," Natsume sighed and walked to the counter before placing the toy on the counter. He fished the money out of his wallet and waited for the shopkeeper to finish the transaction. Shoving the change into his pocket, Natsume took the bag that the present was in and walked to Mikan who was still with the salamander. Natsume grabbed her jacket and tugged her away from the salamander and out of the shop.

"Embarrass yourself all you like, but don't embarrass me," Natsume hissed and let go of her jacket. Mikan stuck out her bottom lip and frowned before walking away in a huff. Natsume sighed and began to walk after her before he noticed an ice-cream shop next to him. A small smile beginning to emerge on his face, he jogged to the shop and took out his black wallet.

….

Mikan stomped away in no particular direction. Natsume didn't have to say it like that, it wasn't as if liking a cute salamander was a crime. Anyways, didn't most people find salamanders cute? As Mikan stomped on, she noticed that Natsume was nowhere in sight. Worries began to plague her, without Natsume, she would definitely get lost. What if she couldn't get out of the shopping centre? Then she wouldn't make it back to school. How could she get back to school? As she was deeply engrossed in her thoughts, she managed to bang into a wall. Rubbing her head, she stepped away from the wall and into another wall. Why were there two walls? Mikan shook her head, it wasn't a wall, it was a person. She turned around to see Natsume holding an ice-cream in one hand with a smirk on his face.

"Here," Natsume said and handed Mikan the ice-cream. "For before."

It took Mikan a few seconds to realise what he was talking about, the sight of the ice-cream had successfully blown her grudge away.

"Thanks," Mikan said. Natsume let a small smile show on his face before he led the way out of the shopping centre.

"Oh, and while you were grudging, I figured out a way to get back to school. You see, we take this bus and then…" Natsume said while pointing to a map he'd gotten from the concierge.

Soon, Mikan and Natsume returned to the school. As Mikan ran towards the gates, she pulled on her wig and managed to slip in just before the automatic gates slammed shut.

"T-That was close," Mikan panted and took a deep breath. She glanced over at Natsume to see that he was breathing normally as if that intense run had been nothing. Seeing his calm state, Mikan suddenly remembered Natsume's basketball game earlier on. Natsume had managed to get past every single defender with his amazing speed. He hadn't needed to use fakes to slip past them; he had used sheer speed and amazing footwork.

"Amazing," Mikan said quietly, however Natsume heard, he heard everything.

"Who? Me?"

"Of course not you, you're the last one who I would call amazing. Anyways, we should hurry up and return otherwise Tsubasa and the others are going to worry."

"Sure, sure."

"One sure is enough. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Natsume smirked.

"Let's go," he said as a chilly breeze ruffled their hair. Mikan nodded with a small smile on her face made visible by the moonlight.

"It was fun today."