-Bathes in the reviews- LOL jk, but I love you guys so much C: Especially the people who are really updated on this story hehe. Thanks for the support~ I've decided to release this (rather short) chapter as an extension of my gratitude (I sound like an old man). I reread it though, and it was meh. Sorry D:

Anyways enjoy~

Chapter 4

He was Flame.

He was Natsume.

He was DarkBrawlerx0.

So DarkBrawlerx0 was Natsume...as Natsume was Flame.

Meaning DarkBrawlerx0 was Flame.

Oh, mother of pearl. Mikan sat at her desk, looking quite stiff as her eyes trailed the 'welcome back' messages sent to Natsume.

PermKitty: Omg, welcome back Natsume!

TobyIllusion: Wb!

RuPyon: Wb. C:

ICanReadYoMind: Finally on your duelist, Natsume.

ICanReadYoMind: Carry me through hell-mode dungeons, please.

Flame: Thanks.

Flame: And no, Koko.

ICanReadYoMind: Why.

Flame: In a dungeon at the moment.

ICanReadYoMind: Oh, ok.

She could've sworn a bug could fly into her mouth at any moment. Was Natsume really Flame, the number one player of Gakuen Alice? Maybe she had mistaken his name. Maybe he replaced the lowercase "L" in Flame with an uppercase "I".

However the next thing that happened shut down her theory.

-Flame is now Level 92-

PermKitty: Gratz, champion.

TobyIllusion: Wow, gratz. You're way ahead of xKirito.

RuPyon: Congratz, Natsume C:

ICanReadYoMind: Dang.

ICanReadYoMind: Gz boy.

ICanReadYoMind: Though I call hacks on that.

ILoveKrab: Stop leveling.

ICanReadYoMind: How do you level so fast?

Flame: I don't know.

Flame: Pro right here.

HazelOrbz: ...

HazelOrbz: Omg

Flame: What.

HazelOrbz: Are you really Flame?

Flame: . . .

Flame: That's a stupid question.

Flame: Noob.

That made her gap even more.

HazelOrbz: ...

HazelOrbz: Newb*

Flame: .

The brunette hesitated a little before asking again.

HazelOrbz: ...Are you really Natsume?

Flame: -_-

Flame: Yes, you noob.

PermKitty: She's just shocked pft.

PermKitty: I mean, who wouldn't be?

PermKitty: Number one player online. In our guild.

TobyIllusion: Newb* :D

Flame: -_-

Mikan scratched her head a little, pressing her fingers against her temples. She had just spent the past four hours leveling her newb with the number-one player of this game. And even though it was a game, it felt surreal.

Flame: I don't see what the big deal is.

HazelOrbz: ...

ICanReadYoMind: ^

ICanReadYoMind: Understatement of the year.

Flame: Whatever.

Flame: Dungeon time.

TobyIllusion: ^^;

HazelOrbz: Well, that was definitely surprising for me.

RuPyon: Hahah

RuPyon: Anyways Mikan,

RuPyon: We all started as newbs when we made this guild C:

RuPyon: So don't feel intimidated~

ICanReadYoMind: And now, four of us are the pro-est gamers.

ILoveKrab: Except for you, Koko.

ILoveKrab: Even Sumire's number thirty-six.

ICanReadYoMind: ...

HazelOrbz: Oh, wow. :O

PermKitty: Guys, I digress, but

PermKitty: Want to call later for the usual routine?

ICanReadYoMind: For the party dungeons?

PermKitty: Yea.

ICanReadYoMind: Sure, baby.

PermKitty: I swear I'm going to punch you, Koko.

ICanReadYoMind: Why.

PermKitty: -sigh-

PermKitty: Anyways do you have a Skype, Mikan?

She paused for a few minutes, watching PermKitty's (Mikan forgot her name) request sit there. The brunette did have one, but she never really used it.

HazelOrbz: I doo, but I never use it..

PermKitty: Just add us.

ICanReadYoMind: ^ Peer pressure.

PermKitty: Go away, Koko.

ICanReadYoMind: Why, Sumire.

Oh yea, her name was Sumire, Mikan noted.

While the two bickered, Mikan minimized the game screen and logged onto her Skype (after two tries of guessing her password). She had temporarily forgot about the whole Natsume-is-a-fricking-pro incident. She clicked on her profile, memorized her Skype username, and pressed back to the game, where Sumire and Koko were still talking.

ICanReadYoMind: And I

ICanReadYoMind: will always.

PermKitty: Stop.

ICanReadYoMind: Love You.

PermKitty: Omg.

ICanReadYoMind: You.

ICanReadYoMind: My darling.

ICanReadYoMind: I'll always...

ICanReadYoMind: I'll always.

ICanReadYoMind: Love.

ILoveKrab: Shut up, Koko.

ICanReadYoMind: ok.

PermKitty: Thank you, Hotaru.

Mikan couldn't help but snort in laughter. The notorious Ice Queen had shut the boy in less than two seconds. She chuckled again before typing in the guild chat.

HazelOrbz: If you still want my Skype...

HazelOrbz: It's MikiOrange**

TobyIllusion: That's a cute username :D

HazelOrbz: Aha, thanks Tobito :D

PermKitty: Added you.

Reading Sumire's message, she immediately went back to her Skype window and shockingly saw five pending requests. She read them as they each indicated their names. First one was obviously from Sumire. Second was from Tobito. Third was from Koko. Fourth was weirdly from RuPyon (she had discovered his name was Ruka from his Skype), who didn't talk too much in the chat today. And fifth was shockingly from the Ice Queen, Hotaru. Mikan was a bit intimidated by her, but nonetheless, she accepted all of them.

To her biggest disappointment though, there was no sixth request.

Natsume never sent her one.

Well...he still might be in the dungeon. He wasn't talking in guild chat...

She couldn't help but feel slightly saddened as she returned to Gakuen Alice. She had actually expected his request the most.

.

.

Wait, what?

Mikan slapped her cheeks with her hand. Why did she think that? It's not a big deal that he didn't send her one. In fact, it was downright crazy that he was even associated with her. The most experienced gamer in Gakuen Alice with a first-time player like her was just outright weird.

Yeah.

It wasn't a big deal. She smiled brightly as she teleported to the nearest town. A purple text popped up, showing it was from Sumire.

PermKitty: We're going to call in five minutes.

PermKitty: Anyone disagree?

ICanReadYoMind: No.

RuPyon: Nope~

ILoveKrab: Just finished dungeon.

ILoveKrab: I can call.

TobyIllusion: I'm free

TobyIllusion: Wait,

TobyIllusion: is Mikan going to join our call? :o

She froze a little. Was she going to join their call? This was literally her first day of gaming.

And she had met these guys for less than a day.

PermKitty: Well, I asked her Skype for a reason.

HazelOrbz: Actually, it's getting late

HazelOrbz: I'm going to get off :D

TobyIllusion: Aww

RuPyon: Maybe next time, Mikan. C:

HazelOrbz: Yeah :D

ICanReadYoMind: I really wanted to hear Mikan's voice.

PermKitty: Go away, Koko.

ICanReadYoMind: Why.

HazelOrbz: haha :P

HazelOrbz: Well see you guys tomorrow!

PermKitty: Night, girl.

ILoveKrab: A responsible child.

ICanReadYoMind: Bye, MikiOrange**.

TobyIllusion: Sleep tight, Mikan!

RuPyon: Night, Mikan C:

She logged off after Ruka's message, trying to not let Natsume's absence in the chat bother her. After a few minutes of drinking from her water bottle and playing rounds of Minesweeper, she felt her eyelids droop from tiredness. The clock's green light read 12:34 A.M.

Goodness gracious. She had always been asleep before 11 P.M. This was new.

As she clicked out of Minesweeper, she noticed her Skype icon shine yellow with one notification. She had expected it to be from one of her contacts.

.

However it wasn't. Her hazel eyes widened.

Mikan now saw a new pending request sitting at the top from five minutes ago. She read the small, simple message with a hint of smile.

'It's Natsume... Night, noob.'

"This guy..." the brunette mumbled. She pressed accept and went straight to bed, grinning like an idiot.