Disclaimer: I own only Hana, Daichi and Akatsuki. I do not own Gakuen Alice.

Note: I still suck at grammar

He then added something with his own concerned look that made Mikan weak in the knees.

"When are you going to start telling me the absolute truth?"

Mikan tried her best to not fall to her knees as she stared into Natsume's eyes. Both stayed silent, waiting for the other to speak. After three long minutes of silence, Mikan inhaled deeply before speaking.

"Natsume, there are many things that I cannot tell you at the moment. Please, understand. There are lots of things about me that I would prefer for you to not know. Though, if you want to know, then I will tell you. Just… not yet…" she replied as she avoided his eyes for her last sentence.

Natsume's eyes hardened at Mikan's reply. "Fine then," he started off, "tell me this- Why are you in the Dangerous ability class? You couldn't have been put in the class for an Alice that temporarily stops another Alice from working."

Mikan looked up again and saw Natsume's emotionless face, though with eyes desperately trying to hide his worry. Mikan heaved a sigh and spoke.

"Natsume, things aren't always as it seems. You would know that already" she spoke softly as she looked down. She then continued, "I was asked which class I wanted to go in out of two choices- Special and Dangerous ability class. I thought about it and I chose the DA class."

"Why?" questioned Natsume in an irritated voice. Mikan gave him a questioning look. Natsume closed his eyes, and started concentrating on his breathing. "Why did you choose the DA class? You know very well what you will have to do. Why didn't you choose the Special Ability class? Make a change to the SA class."

Now, it was time for Mikan to close her eyes and focus on her breathing. "Well, Natsume. For most of my life, I've been nothing but a burden and- no, DON'T you roll your eyes at me, Natsume- I've been nothing but a burden to my parents, my friends, and especially my brother. I want to at least make use of myself and try and protect them" she replied.

"Then why couldn't you choose another way to protect them? Sure, you'll be making sure that they are safe, but now you are putting yourself in danger, and I doubt they would like the idea. You're just continuing to be a burden, by all means" Natsume shot back, his voice hard.

Mikan threw her arms up into the air. "WELL AT LEAST I'M ABLE TO KEEP THEM SAFE, NATSUME" she yelled. "Before, I was a burden because I couldn't do anything. Now, I'm a burden for helping and trying to save people's lives!" Mikan cried out. "At least…" she added, her voice trailing off, "at least I can make sure that if something were to happen… I will be the one to be able to help them, because they know that I am no longer the burden that I used to be- a burden because I couldn't do anything."

Natsume turned around, so his back was facing her, avoiding her eyes. "Then, I repeat my question from before: why couldn't you choose another way to protect them? Putting yourself in danger, because you want to help other people get out of danger is even worse than the burden you are probably putting on people now. Once people know what you're doing, god knows what they're going to start doing to you. What if something happens? What if you don't return back to the academy, Polka? Tell me, what do you think your friends will like react once they find out that you're dead from going on a mission?" he retorted, his voice now cold.

Mikan closed her eyes and let out a half-hearted laugh and replied in a voice as cold as Natsume's. "You think I'm that weak, eh? Great, now I'm a burden to some else, now? Seriously, Natsume… I'm not as weak as you think I am. I may not be as physically strong as you, but at least I know how to encourage and tell myself to try and work harder. I'm not going to die that easily." She then strode over to Natsume, stood in front of him and looked him in the eyes and spoke, "I'm not weak", in a venomous voice.

"I never said that you were weak, did I? I just don't think you are ready" explained Natsume.

"Well then, what do you think is ready, Natsume? Tell me, what exactly is READY?" Mikan shouted as she poked his chest multiple times.

Natsume looked into Mikan's eyes and saw how determined she was. Seeing no point in trying to convince her anymore, he shook his head and started to make his way out the door. "Fine then," he called out, "do what you want for all I care. Go on those fucking missions and fucking die for all I care" was all he said as he slammed the door shut and made his way to his own room.

Mikan dropped to her knees as soon as Natsume had made his way out of her room. "What the heck just happened?" she murmured to herself as she felt her eyes sting. She gave out a half-hearted laugh before breaking down and started crying. It was the first time she cried in a long time. Why did she start crying now? What did Natsume say to make her want to rip his head off? She then recalled their conversation they had just minutes ago.

"You're just continuing to be a burden, by all means"

Mikan grimaced as she remembered other things Natsume said.

"Putting yourself in danger, because you want to help other people get out of danger is even worse than the burden you are probably putting on people now."

Mikan got off her knees and sat on her bottom as she remembered the things she said- scratch that- yelled at him.

"WELL AT LEAST I'M ABLE TO KEEP THEM SAFE, NATSUME."

Mikan heaved a sigh. She had started to lose her temper at that point…

"Natsume… I'm not as weak as you think I am."

I'm not going to die that easily."

"I'm not weak"

"Right…that's why I want to rip off his head…" she muttered to herself as she remembered their conversation. She then remembered one final thing that made her jump to her feet in anger.

"That idiot, I hate him. I hate him, I hate him" she repeated to herself as went to change into her jogging shorts and put on her joggers. She then jogged her way to the door and slammed it shut and for a run to get rid of most of her mixed emotions at the moment that were getting the best of her.

"Fine then, do what you want for all I care. Go on those fucking missions and fucking die for all I care"

Natsume made his way to his room and slammed the door shut. Damn, why was the girl so stubborn? Why couldn't she listen to him once in a while?

Heaving a frustrated sigh, he walked over to his mini library, took out a book and plopped himself on his bed. He tried his best to focus on the book, though his mind kept on wondering back to the conversation he had with the stubborn girl a few minutes ago. Not able to concentrate on the book any longer, he threw it aside as he heard Mikan's door slam shut and some loud footstep.

"I guess she's going out for a run to calm herself down, then" he muttered to himself as he got off his bed and out onto the balcony. Natsume put his hands on the railing and stared at it. He heard something and looked up. He looked down below his balcony to see Mikan stretching and warming up with an annoyed expression on her face. Considering where she was, she was only going to run around the area, not the whole school, so, Natsume stood back and watched her get ready to run.

Mikan continued to stretch for an extra five minutes and checked her watch. Mikan stood up straight, closed her eyes, and inhaled, feeling the breeze. She then opened her eyes and started to run at Mikan's full speed.

Natsume watched as Mikan ran at full speed, passing people here and there. The more people she passed, the more attention she got. Natsume heaved a sigh and started to mutter random stuff under his breath.

"Damn, I guess I was too harsh on her… especially the last thing I said to her…" he muttered. He then checked his watch and saw that it was almost time for lunch. "Might as well go down to the cafeteria now…" he said as he grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

Mikan stopped in her tracks, panting. She felt weird running so slowly. It felt as if it was draining out more energy in her, than when she was actually run at full speed.

Heaving a sigh, Mikan did a couple of stretched for a few minutes before deciding to make her way to the cafeteria for lunch after checking her watch, showing her that she had been running for about half an hour.

Mikan made her way towards the cafeteria, paying no attention to anything but the sound of her heart beating. She quietly made her way past people here and there and returning a smile to the people who smiled at her.

Finally, she made it to the cafeteria. 'I swear that walking to the cafeteria is more complicated than going for a run for two hours' she thought as she stood in front of the cafeteria doors. Mikan closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as she opened the cafeteria doors and walked in.

As soon as she walked in, all was silent. 'Oh geez, how did it come down to this?' Mikan wondered to herself as she slowly made her way towards the table where Hotaru was, along with Nonoko, Anna and Sumire.

As she made her way closer to the group, all the girls greeted her.

"Hey Mikan, come have a seat" said Anna as she scooted over a little bit so Mikan could fit. Mikan smiled, though continued to stand and spoke.

"Um, why not we just go over to the Special Star table? There's more space" Mikan recommended. The girls nodded and followed Hotaru, who was the first to stand up and make her way towards to Special Star table.

As they neared the Special star area, Mikan quickly gave a smile and a nod to the robot that stopped Hotaru from entering the Special star area to allow them to pass.

"They are my friends" she told the robot who replied with a nod and went a way to grab some menus and quickly came back as the girls took a seat.

"So, where are the boys? Sumire asked curiously. Mikan inwardly thanked her for asking the question that she, herself, was dying to ask. All heads turned to the opposite side of the cafeteria, where Hotaru was pointing towards.

"They boys seem the run away from us. So cut..." Sumire joked. Mikan let out a small laugh.

"But... why exactly are they all the way over there? They usually hang out with us, don't they?" Nonoko wondered. "Unless..." she added. All heads turned towards Mikan, causing her to sweat drop.

"Why are you all looking at me for?" she quietly exclaimed, while waving her arms about. All her friends narrowed their eyes and leaned closer to her. Sumire even bothered to get up and stand behind Mikan's chair. Sumire slowly put her hands on Mikan's shoulders and leaned forward, so that her head was almost leaning on Mikan's right shoulder.

"So, Mikan-chan..." Sumire started off. The rest of the girls, even Hotaru, leaned in further and said two words in a way that made Mikan try to hide in her seat.

"Spill, girl"

Natsume had made his way towards the cafeteria, and bumped into all the guys along the way. Natsume stayed silent for the whole trip towards to cafeteria. He felt weird having to actually make his way towards the cafeteria. He hardly ever went to the cafeteria, why had he decided to go today, anyway?

Natsume shook his head, as if to get rid of the thought as he heard Koko and Yuu planning to ask some of the girls out to the Masked Ball. Natsume inwardly smirked. 'Well good luck to them' he thought half-heartedly as he closed his eyes. He then heard the door open and the whole cafeteria go silent. Curious upon why everyone had gone silent, he opened his eyes a little bit and peeked at whoever it was that walked in. His eyes shot open when he saw who it was.

'Polka' he thought. He then mentally slapped himself. How could he have been so stupid? Who else would be able to silence the whole cafeteria other than himself? Natsume closed his eyes again and tried his best not to pay attention to the brunette who was making her way towards her friends. Unfortunately, his curiosity got the better of him and he slightly opened his eyes to peek at what she was doing.

She was still in her attire from when she went out to run, by all means, she was still in the plain violet, which was underneath the dark grey hoodie and running shorts, her hoodie still covering her head.

Natsume quickly closed his eyes when he suddenly recalled his previous conversation with her. Why did this girl have so much effect on him? He wondered as he reopened his eyes again and saw her group of friends, as well as her, making their way towards the Special star tables.

The cafeteria was still silent up until now. As soon as the girls sat down again, the cafeteria was back to its noisy volume. Though, Koko, Yuu, Ruka and Mochu were still keeping their gaze on the girls.

"Hey, what do you think they're talking about?" Koko questioned Mochu in a whisper.

"I don't know, man! I'm not the one with supernatural hearing powers!" Mochu exclaimed in reply. As soon as he finished his sentence, all heads turned towards Natsume, who quickly shut his eyes closed, hoping they would look away soon and leave him alone. After three long minutes, he could still feel the stares from his mate. Inwardly heaving a sigh, Natsume opened one eyes and said, "What?"

Mochu scooted closer to Natsume and slung his arm around Natsume's shoulders and spoke. "Natsume, my man…" he stared off. He was about to continue when Koko cut him off, who decided to be frank.

"So… tell us, what are you able hear?" asked Koko.

Natsume looked around at the faces of the people who were seated at the same table as him. 'The things I go through just to not kill them…' he thought to himself.

"I hear nothing" he replied nonchalantly as he closed his eye again, in hope that they would let-whatever they wanted to know- pass. Only, today was not his day.

"Ah come on, man! Just one thing?" pleaded Koko. Natsume saw Ruka slowly pull Yuu away from Natsume, Koko and Mochu. 'Thank god Ruka knows how much patience I have at the moment. I got to thank that bunny of his' Natsume thought.

"Piss off, would you?" he growled to Koko and Mochu, who quickly backed away with a sheepish grin on their faces.

"Ah…hah… sorry, man… we were just curious" Mochu explained at an emotionless Natsume.

"Yeah, we were just wondering…curious and all… You know Mochu. He's worried Sumire's going to ditch him right before the Ball and go with some other better looking guy" Koko butted in, earning a glare from Mochu.

"I am not!" he denied. "YOU'RE worried that you're going to be rejected by Nonoko when you asked her to be your partner to the Masked Ball!" exclaimed Mochu quietly. Koko chuckled and replied.

"Oh Mochu, Mochu, Mochu…" Koko started off. "I…Kokoro Yome," Koko then ran his hand through his hair dramatically, posed for a while and then continued, "Does not get turned down"

Mochu then burst out laughing while Ruka and Yuu stifled a laugh while Natsume watched in amusement.

"Seriously? HAH! That's…that's cool, bro" said Mochu. Koko raised an eyebrow at Mochu, and then looked around to the rest of the table to see Ruka and Yuu look away and pretend that they were talking about something really interesting. Koko then turned to Natsume, who quickly shut his eyes closed again. Koko narrowed his eyes.

"I can ask her out! I WILL!" Koko exclaimed. All eyes, including Natsume, stared at Koko. He then saw all of them smirk.

"Prove it then" said Ruka, leaning forward. Koko narrowed his eyes further, wondering what his friend was thinking about. Koko then smirked. 'Oh, how I love being me' he thought to himself as he started to activate his Alice. Though, he frowned when he realized that it wasn't working. Sure, it was there inside of him, but it wasn't working. What was happening? Koko shrugged thinking it was just a weird thing here and there.

"What do you mean? How do I prove it?" asked Koko. He then sweat dropped when he saw Natsume smirk. 'What the hell?' he thought.

Ruka cleared his throat to capture Koko's attention. "Well, why not go and ask her then?" questioned Ruka, smugly.

"Wow, someone's sure of themselves today, aren't they? I don't see you asking Imai out, Nogi" Koko shot back at Ruka. Ruka started to laugh.

"That, my friend…is because I already asked her out a couple of days ago. So, I already have a partner to go to the Masked Ball already. So, go ask Nonoko then" replied Ruka. Something in Koko snapped.

"FINE, I WILL ASK HER THEN!" he exclaimed.

"Ask who what?" asked someone from behind. The voice sounded too familiar in fact, much, too much familiar. Koko slightly paled, though he turned pink with embarrassment and anger, as his friends had planned this. Taking a deep breath, he turned around to see Nonoko, Anna, Sumire, Hotaru and Mikan staring at Koko expectantly, waiting for an answer for his sudden outburst when they arrived.

"Well, Koko? Mind answering the question?" asked Sumire with her hands on her hip, as if already knowing what he was talking about. Koko prayed that his mind reading Alice would work at the moment. So, he slowly activated his Alice and decided to read Sumire's mind and…

'-ORO YOME, YOU ARE GOING TO ASK NONOKO TO THE MASKED BALL THIS INSTANT. I KNOW THAT YOU ARE READING MY MIND, BOY. ASK HER NOW' was what she was thinking. Koko immediately looked away from Sumire's expectant stare and gulped. He turned to face his friends only to see them smugly looking at him. He even saw Mochu who was in the background, doing a chicken dance- obviously mocking him.

"Damn…" muttered Koko. Deciding to not give up, he took a deep breath and quickly turned around and stared at Sumire, mutely asking her to give him some space. Sumire grinned and pulled the rest of the girls away and dragged near the other boys. Sumire forced Mikan to sit next to Natsume, Anna next to Yuu, then Hotaru next to Ruka and then sat herself next to Mochu. They then watched silently as they saw Koko fidgeting. Nonoko too dense to realise anything and curiously watched Koko.

"Uh, Koko…what's wrong?" she asked quietly, taking a small step forwards towards Koko. Koko, who was currently staring at the ground, quickly looked up and hugged her, catching Nonoko by surprise and gasp.

"Koko, what ar-" she started off, only to be cut off by Koko who spoke in a whisper.

"Please give me the honour of showing off to my friends that you are going with me to the Masked Ball" he quietly muttered, hoping she was the only one to hear. Though, unknown to him, Mikan and Natsume were secretly smirking since they heard what Koko asked.

Nonoko stayed silent for a few minutes. When Koko didn't hear any reply, he slowly pulled away to see Nonoko's widened eyes.

"No…no…ko…?" Koko slowly said, waving a hand in front of her face, snapping Nonoko out of her trance. A huge smile slowly appeared on her face as she jumped into Koko's arms while giving her answer- Yes.

Mikan smiled, happy for her friends and clapped. Her friends then followed and clapped as well. Koko and Nonoko then snapped out of their own world and smile sheepishly at their friends.

"HAH. I told you I could ask her!" Koko exclaimed arrogantly. Mikan and Natsume both raised an eyebrow.

'Yeah, in the most retarded way possible' they both thought.

"Speaking of which… who still needs a partner to the Ball?" Sumire asked curiously while looking around the table as Koko and Nonoko took a seat next to each other.

Mikan, Yuu, Anna and Natsume avoided Sumire's eyes as she looked at them. Mikan began to take a deep interest in her watch, Yuu and Anna started a deep conversation about something random while Natsume closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair.

"So… you four, eh? Why not just go with each other? I mean… nothing's wrong with that, right?" Sumire suggested thoughtfully. Mikan cleared her throat and excused herself after explaining to Sumire that she would be too busy during the Masked Ball.

Sumire shook her head. Honestly, that girl… She had told the rest of the girls a few minutes ago about what happened between her and Natsume. Who ever knew that they were bother on such awkward terms? She never knew that Mikan was planning on asking Natsume to the Masked Ball, though it ended up turning into a fight. Well, that's what Mikan told them, anyway.

"Oh well, then…" Sumire trailed off as she watched Mikan exit the cafeteria. The group then went into a deep discussion about how the world would be like pigs could fly.

Natsume had secretly watched Mikan leave the cafeteria, wondering if she was still angry at him. 'Wait, what am I thinking? Of course she would be angry at me! Tch, but at least she was able to sit beside me…' thought Natsume. He then stood up and left the cafeteria himself and headed for the Sakura tree.

He could only hope that his relationship with Mikan wasn't ruined because some stupid things he said.

A/N: Hello! I actually planned on updating two days ago, but… something happened, I don't know what, but it just happened. I'm starting to get lazy…again. This chapter's shorter than the other chapters I have been writing/typing recently.

Also, I've ben thinking of a new story lately... but I won't start uploading it until I'm almost done with this story.

BTW, if there are things that you don't understand, PM me or include in your reviews, so I'll include it in my stories to answer your questions, or I'll just straight out PM you.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter… even though I, myself, have no idea of what happened… Oh wells, thanks for reading! Leave a review~ :D