AN: I'm gonna apologize in advance if I get lazy and put this on infinite haitus

Thursday Night: 22:25

The same clock Mikan had been watching since she came in finally struct her time off. She bid her coworker a dramatic farewell wave, grabbing her purse from underneath the counter and stalking off into the cool fall weather. As cliched as it might be, Mikan loved the fall weather. The wind always swept her into this relaxing, carefree mode.

She took a theatrical deep breathe and let it out into a wide smile. Finally, off work. Going Home. Getting naked. Watching T.V. All the what not you did when you didn't have a care in the world.

Except...

"Good, you're off."

A digusted frown pulled at Mikan lips and her happy spirit layed down into a pit of depression. She glanced over to the tall guy standing some feet away next to an old school firebird. She could see it was some old timer vehicle but it's paint job was as sleek as it's driver, making both of them pretty attractive for some odd reason.

She tossed her apron over her shoulder and placed an irritated hand on her hip. "Why are you still here?"

The guy, Natsume he preferred to be called much to her dismay, let out a light chuckle.

"What do you mean? Waiting for my muse..." Mikan was quick to raise a finger to stop him in his tracks.

"I didn't agree to be your anything."

Natsume laughed again. She swore if he laughed one more time she was ready with the cops on speed dail.

"You said you would try it."

"I said I would think about it. Where did you even get that from?"

She clutched her phone when he chuckled again. "I saw it in your eyes."

"Like hell you did." She couldn't take it anymore. She loved the weather but it was starting to get to her. The thin jacket she brought wasn't enough to keep her from shivering. Plus, she wanted to hurry and get back. Alejandro was calling. "I gotta go. See ya."

She began tredding over the mass of fallen leaves on the ground, being careful not to ruin her new sneakers. She worked too hard at that place to buy cute things only to destroy them in less than a week.

Mikan barely made it to the corner before Natsume came chasing after her. He placed one of his gloved covered hands on her shoulder causing her to jump back.

"Sorry...did you need a ride?"

She rose an eyebrow, looking at his car waiting infront of the shop, back at him and to the car again.

Mikan already knew, this guy, this Nastume character, was a stranger. He claimed to be a professor at the University but she had yet to see any evidence of that, plus he had just spent an hour waiting for her to get off work and now he was offering her a ride. If she didn't see all these red flags waving clear as day infront of her face she was ashamed to say she wasn't raised correctly.

Although the idea of not having to walk 25 blocks back to her apartment sounded glorious, she knew she couldn't. This guy was a character, and she wasn't willing to play along. "Thanks but no thanks. Goodbye."

"Whoa whoa, wait." A frightened uneasiness spilled into her gut and she could only think of horrible thoughts now. She didn't want to be one of those girls she saw on the security boards on campus, saying they were napped or violated.

"Look," She whipped out her phone, her short pink nail centimeters away from pressing the emergency dial. "I don't know what you're planning, and I don't wanna guess, but they'll have campus police here in two seconds!"

Her breathing turned heavy as she slowly backed away from Natsume, no intentions of moving her finger down from the red telephone symbol.

Natsume threw his hands up in surrender, not moving from his spot where he had chased her in hopes of calming her thoughts of him being some kind of pervert.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I'm a teacher for goodness sake." Mikan scoffed, hand still putting the cops phone number on display.

"Even I know I'd go to jail in a second."

"Well, I don't wanna stick around to find out!"

"Wait wait!" Natsume quickly patted down his leather trench coat and those same dark jeans that Mikan noticed did, infact, make him look good on his lower half. But this wasn't the time to be thinking about his masculine features!

Mikan wasn't sure what kept her from making a run for it, but something about his eagerness to find whatever he was looking for and for her not to dissappear when he looked away made her wait to see. If she was wrong and he was just using this as a distraction then...at least her finger was still patiently waiting by the speed dial.

Her worries seemed to be put a little at ease when he whipped out a familiar white and green card. The plastic worn from use and peeling at the sides, but nonetheless, she recognized her school banner at the top.

Mikan squinted, glancing at Natsume then swiping the card out of his hand. She eyed him suspiciously before examining the piece of plastic. A picture of the same creep infront of her was plastered on the bottem right corner, right above his name and his label as a Professor of the Psychological and Behavioural Department. Natsume looked as dark and handsome in his photo as he did in real life. Only his picture showed no traces of his strange, inconsistant personality. Just him giving a straight faced expression to the camera.

Mikan still made sure to keep her distance when she handed him the card back. He tucked it back into whichever pocket he pulled it out of then smiled up at her.

"So..." Natsume began, opening his hands as if to say she was wrong about him, he wasn't a untrustworthy character.

"Ok, well...Still, why are you bothering me?"

He chuckled. May she remind him she still had her finger by the phone.

"It's not my intention to bother you," Mikan rose a brow. "Honestly."

"See, one of my students, Ms. Imai, suggested for my research I use her friend as my subject. You...Ms. Sakura, right? Mikan."

Mikan calmed down at the mention of Hotaru. Why wasn't this mentioned before? She nearly pissed her pants for no reason.

"Why didn't Hotaru mention this to me?"

Natsume strugged. "My guess is because she wanted me to see you in action. Well...not in action, but in your normal state of activity."

Mikan didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure whether to call up Hotaru and yell at her or yell at Natsume.

"In action? I'm confused."

"If you're calm now, which you seem to be, we can back tract and start over. Let me take you home and I'll explain everything on the way."

Mikan was too confused and tired to think about the consequences that were waving in her face about this. Deeming it was good enough that he knew her name and her friend she checked him out as ok. Besides, she had now seen proof that he did work for Yazawa, he was a professor in the psychology department and his name was Natsume. She did away with her extra thoughts, nodding and following Natsume back to his car.

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Natsume's firebird screeched over to the side of the road. Mikan let out a huge breath she had been holding since he closed the door behind her. If he wasn't the craziest driver she had ever rode with.

Natsume sped the whole way to her building, curving around the few cars that sprinkled the night streets and barely stopping at the traffic lights. Mikan felt around for the door handle, keeping her view straight ahead. She was sure if her eyes dropped to the ground she would see more than her breath coming out of her mouth.

"T-Thanks," Mikan gulped down her sick feeling. "Thanks for the ride."

Natsume responded with a grin. Her arm nearly jabbed him when he leaned towards her direction. A little too close for comfort. But it oddly sparked Mikan's interest.

Natsume reached over past her stained work pants and popped open the glove compartment. Surprisingly, disappointment washed over Mikan as she watched him pull out a sleek black card. Mikan didn't know why she was expecting something to happen.

"Here." She eyed the anticlimactic piece of paper, taking it and looking it over. Everything about this man was sleek. Him, his car, even his business cards.

She read over His name and his services. Natsume Hyuuga; Consultant and Creative Director. The card listed two numbers and his office location at the bottom.

"Think over what we talked about. I have to start as soon as possible so think quickly."

Mikan nodded, gathering her things and stepping out of the vehicle.

"I'll be waiting for your response, Mikan."

She nodded again.

Mikan stood with her hand readying the door to be closed, shifting on each leg not sure whether to say something more. She apologized and slammed the door, stepping back further onto the sidewalk. Natsume sped off after she proceeded to remember her apartment building was behind them and finally stalking off to unlock the door.

Mikan examined the black card a second time as the elevator lifted her to the sixth floor. She thought back to the presumptuous man whose car she just left.

Natsume had told her he was fairly new as a professor and had to complete a research project to be promoted to a lead academic conductor. She had asked him why he wanted to be a lead conductor if he was so new, where he oh-so-proudly informed her he had "more professional things to do than teach ignorant college students".

Mikan sneered at the memory of his words.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the overbearing pitch of her ringtone. The loud chimming sprung her back to reality. She made haste to unlock her door, digging out her cell at the same time. After Natsume chose to stop giggling like a school boy she finally threw her phone in the depths of her purse.

"Hello," she answered with a relieved sigh. She hadn't figured out how to work her voicemail yet so every call was a winner.

"H-hey," An unsure voice squeaked.

"Hey, you're calling quite late." Mikan flipped the lights on in every room she stepped in.

When her caller didn't continue she stopped in her tracts. Her gaze narrowed to the phone, "What?"

There was some shuffling over the line. Mikan went over to her couch planting firmly on the edge. The edge always seemed like the best place just incase it was bad news. If she fainted from the shock her neighbors would hear.

"Ruka?"

"Listen Mikan," Ruka muttered. This couldn't be good. He was muttering. "I can't do this anymore. I'm not happy. I think I'm finished. With the relationship, I mean."

Mikan's mind flushed and she went blank. "Wh-"

"I'm sorry. Y-You...It's me not you, I mean...I'm sorry," Ruka stuttered out before she heard a click and the dial tone started talking instead of Ruka.

Frozen dumbfounded, all she could think of was the fact that she hadn't turned on the light in the living room.

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