Natsume was not pleased. Not in the slightest bit. He felt a vein pop as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.

Mikan had ignored Natsume for 3 days now and had actually switched partners yesterday. She switched Natsume for Koko. This irked the lad. Even more so when he saw that she had abandoned the seat next to him and offered to switch seats with Sumire who in turn was more than happy to do so.

Over the course of days, Permy had begun to like Mikan, er, Kana more due to the fact that she had Natsume as a partner now and even as a seatmate. This brought the green-haired girl to heaven.

"Kana-chaaaaan!" the dirty-blond greeted as he came into the room. He wore a large smile on his face as he sat next to the brunette. "I didn't know you switched seats! Cool." He beamed at her before giving Natsume a quick, apologetic smile which he returned with a sneer.

"I couldn't focus in the back. The light reflecting from the window hurt my eyes." She lied monotonously as she moved her chair a bit to give space for Koko's bag on the floor.

"Oh. Is that really the reason?" He replied cheekily with a sly grin on his face. "Of course it is, idiot." She smacked the back of his head as she donned a slightly visible blush on her straight face.

Her seatmate just gave another grin before whispering something in her ear which made her redden even more. "D-don't say that! Idiot!" She gave him another whack in the head as he just chuckled to himself.

This brought attention to the both of them. What could have Koko said that broke the calm façade of the brunette and caused her to be so flustered?

"Go have your lover's quarrel somewhere else. I'm working on my invention." A steely voice said. They both turned their heads to see the violet-eyed inventor giving them both cold stares.

Koko gulped and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Don't be such a spoil sport, Imai." He gave another grin. "Besides you-"

"Don't even try to threaten me with what you heard from my mind a few days ago. You don't want a certain picture of you to go around now, do you?" The stoic girl had a steely glint in her eyes as she carelessly dangled a folder in front of the mind-reader. Koko paled and tried to grab at the folder.

"You can have them for all I care. I've got tons of other copies." She threw the folder at the mind-reader and went back to tinkering on her invention.

"Wasn't that a bit mean, Imai?" a soft voice came from behind the mind-reader. Koko whipped his head back to see the brunette stand up with her book in her left hand.

"Mhm. What do you care,Yukihira?" Hotaru replied still not bringing her head up from her invention.

"Well, for one, you could have just worn earplugs or headphones. Of course, a girl of your talents can easily procure a pair of those, am I right?" This time, the inventor brought her head up from her invention to stare down the brunette who just gave a smirk.

"My my, Yukihira, standing up for your little boyfriend now, are we?" She retorted back with a smirk of her own.

The brunette scoffed. "Please, Imai. This is just as my business as is his. I was the one who rudely exclaimed which disturbed one of your little sessions with your inventions."

The others watched in a mix of fear and amusement the exchange of retorts in front of them. Especially a certain firecaster, well, he wasn't completely amused. He was a bit irritated at the fact that she stood up for someone other than him, for Koko nonetheless.

The steely-eyed inventor gave the brunette another stare before plopping back to her seat and continued to work on her invention. "I'm sorry for being irrational."

Almost everyone widened their eyes and gasped. Imai? Hotaru Imai actually apologized?

"And I'm sorry for disturbing your little session." Both returned to their previous tasks as if no exchange had happened. The others still had their mouths wide open and their eyes as wide as saucers.

"Close your mouths, idiots." The stoic inventor said as she grabbed her baka gun from her bag. "Or I'll close them for you." They closed their mouths as they saw the baka gun glint.

Class droned on as Koko continued to annoy Mikan who just constantly rolled her eyes and gave Koko a frequent kick under the table.

The raven-haired found himself frequently staring at the brunette and the mind-reader wondering what they were talking about and what Koko had said to the brunette earlier that caused her to be so flustered. He would try to fall asleep on his desk or read a manga but would be constantly brought back to staring at the pair due to hearing a yelp, a chuckle or a sound of a kick from the pair.

"Mr. Yome, would you like to share something with the class?" Serina-sensei said sternly as she glared at Koko who was constantly making noise. The brunette beside him just leaned her head on her palm, looking completely innocent, and watched in amusement.

"N-no, Serina-sensei." He stammered out.

"Well then, kindly repeat what I said a while ago." At this, the teacher smirked as she leaned on the teacher's table with her arms crossed.

"M-Mr. Yome, would you like to share something with the class?" Almost everyone burst out laughing while a vein throbbed in her forehead.

"Your japes are not appreciated in my class, Mr. Yome. Detention after class."

"Aw man." The dirty-blond said as he sank into his seat with a pout etched across his features.

"Stop being a baby. Serves you right, anyway." The brunette remarked as she stood up.

"And where are you going, Ms. Yukihira?" the teacher asked as a brow rose delicately across her forehead.

The brunette took a note out from her pocket and tossed it to the teacher and exited the room as she slammed the door.

Natsume stood up to and followed the brunette out. Serina-sensei just rolled her eyes and continued her lesson as she pocketed the note.

The brunette walked briskly along the corridor, deciding to take a detour first before going to the northern forest. She knocked on one of the classroom doors and popped her head in.

"Tsubasa Andou is needed in the principal's office." The brunette said in a stoic manner as she searched the classroom for the said person.

"What did you do this time, Andou?" The teacher asked before nodding to let the teen out. The midnight-haired lad just shrugged as he stood up from his seat and exited the classroom.

"What does the old man want from me?" He asked the brunette as he stared at her features. She was definitely pretty and had nice curves but there was something delicately familiar about her.

"He doesn't, I do, senpai." The last part triggered a memory his mind.

"Senpai! Why do you have to go?"A brunette-haired child cried into his arms as he hugged her tightly.

"I have to, Michi." He said with a small smile. "I'll try to visit as many times as possible."

"B-but! Y-you're going away! I won't g-get to see s-senpai a-anymore!" She hugged him tighter as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Don't worry, kouhai. I'll write you, lots!" The midnight-haired lad let go of the small brunette and placed her back on the ground. He grabbed his backpack, adjusted his beanie and gave the brunette a cute little wink and a grin before going inside the sleek black car. That was how the brunette's first ever crush left her sniffling on the ground as she watched the car drive away.

"Mi-mikan?" He softly asked as he stared at the brunette disbelievingly.

"Don't be so loud, idiot." She answered with a soft smile her lips.

"I j-just can't believe you're h-here. Look how much you've grown!" He encircled her into a hug which she gladly returned, happy to be reunited with her precious senpai.

"And you've changed! I thought you would still be the same bubbly little girl I used to babysit!" he continued as he separated from the hug and gave her a once-over. His eyes stopped at her chest. She definitely wasn't the same little girl.

"Watch where your eyes go, bub." She replied playfully as she punched his arm.

"Ouch. That hurt." He tenderly rubbed his arm, feigning pain. "I can't help but check you out. You look and sound so different. Usually when you talked, you would sound, I don't know, more happy."

"About that…" the brunette trailed off and played with the hem of her skirt. "Otou-san died." She whispered, barely audible but enough for the other lad to hear.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." He said as he held her close. "When?"

"A few months after you left. There was a plane c-crash and o-otou-san w-was on the p-plane. He d-died shielding okaa-san from most of the crash. Okaa-san was s-so broken. I tried telling h-her it wasn't her fault. Fortunately, we both moved on and accepted what happened 4 years after. Okaa-san met another man, Shiki, they're currently engaged and my mother's never been happier after the crash." The brunette gave a small smile to indicate to the latter that she was okay to talk about it.

"S-so, how's Yuka-san so far?" he ventured as he continued to keep her close.

"They're pretty happy about it and she's ecstatic when she found out I was okay with it. They're getting married next month." She beamed him a smile.

"Oh that's great!"

"But…" she started as the smile on her face disappeared.

"But what?" he asked. His eyes widened in realization. He just gave her a shocked stare which in reply she just nodded back.

"I can't get to see their wedding. And I was so excited that I would be able to see my mom completely happy and contented again but then I won't be able to see her at her happiest because of this stupid school." She gave him a weak smile and slumped to the ground.

"Have you tried asking your uncle?" he asked as he sat next to her on the ground and patted her head, not knowing what else to do.

"I have. He said he had to discuss it with the teachers first." She replied softly as she leaned on his shoulder. For a while, they both stayed like that, like brother and sister.

A raven-haired lad seethed in jealousy as he watched from behind the vending machine. He couldn't hear what they were saying but he saw that she smiled and hugged him and she didn't even care. And now they were sitting on the ground, leaning on each other. He fumed in his place and had a hard time controlling his alice from burning the whole place down. Was that why she stopped him from kissing her? Because she had a boyfriend? He clenched his fists and walked out of the building and waited for her by the door.

The brunette said goodbye to Tsubasa as he went back in his classroom. She proceeded to head to the northern forest but was immediately pinned to the wall by strong arms as soon as she exited the building.

"L-let go of me!" she yelled to her attacker as she struggled in vain.

"Don't move so much, baka." Her eyes trailed upward and met dazzling ruby orbs.

"W-what do you want, Hyuuga?" she snarled menacingly as she stopped struggling and glared at the person in front of her.

"This." Before the brunette could protest, he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. It was rough, heated and angry. He crushed his body against hers and held her tightly as he kissed her. Luckily, classes were still going on so hopefully no one could see them.

The raven-haired lad separated his lips from hers and gave her small kisses from her jawline towards her neck. He started to suck on a sensitive part on her neck which earned him a moan from her. Afterwards, he brought his lips to her ears and nibbled on her earlobe which she awarded him with another moan. He satisfyingly smirked before going back to her neck and kissing her all the way to her collar bone.

Before it could get too far, Mikan pushed him away. Her face was flushed and she was breathing heavily.

Natsume gave a triumphant smirk and watched as she tried to catch her breath.

"Who's better?" He asked as he crossed his arms with a smug grin on his face.

"Who?" the brunette replied in confusion when she was done fixing herself.

"Who's better? Me or your stupid boyfriend?" He continued.

"Boyfriend?" The brunette cracked a smile when realization hit her. He saw her and Tsubasa. The idiot.

"Yeah. Boyfriend."

"Idiot! That guy was my old senpai at my old school. Our parents were friends so he used to stay at our house when his parents were away. He usually babysat me." Mikan gave a low chuckle as she watched the smug grin curve into an open mouth.

"Tch." Natsume groaned and leaned his head against the wall. "I just made a complete fool of myself, didn't I?"

"Uhuh. You did." Mikan replied with a smirk as she crossed her arms and leaned her shoulder against the wall. "But, on a scale of one to ten, I'd give you a seven."

"A freaking seven? You've got to be kidding me."

"I've had better." She shrugged carelessly.

"Who?"

"My past boyfriends." Mikan really didn't have that many boyfriends. She just said it to irk him. She just had one boyfriend so far and that was 2 years ago when she was still 13 and a teenager hopelessly in love with a jerk, or so she thoought. But she didn't entirely lie when she had better. She had a few kisses before, not exactly better but her old boyfriend was definitely an 8.

Natsume clenched his fists, irritated and jealous.

"Oh, don't worry Nattie. You'll get better." Mikan grinned and sauntered away towards the northern forest. Natsume definitely wasn't just a 7. Oh, he was more of a 10.5.

Saiko had summoned Mikan because she had to talk to her about something. Not exactly a mission but more about school.

"Saiko-sensei?" Mikan asked as she arrived by Bear's lodge.

"Didn't I tell you to call me Saiko-nee?" she was slightly startled when she heard Saiko's velvety voice come from behind her.

"S-Saiko-nee. You wanted to talk about something?" The brunette gracefully raised an eyebrow and sat on one of the lounge chairs.

"Yes. You have to switch back with Natsume. You didn't even ask my permission when you traded partners. Did you forget that he is your designated partner both in school and missions? He's also the only one who knows about your situation. If anyone else were to know about your real identity, the academy might lose its secret weapon against the AAO. We cannot risk that chance." Saiko gave the brunette a cold stare as she fumbled in her seat.

"I'll switch back again tomorrow." Mikan replied softly as she toyed with the hem of her skirt.

"You are dismissed." When the brunette was gone, the red-haired teacher smiled to herself. She knew about the silent quarrel the two had. She particularly didn't care if he banged her, just as long as they both accomplished the missions. She just found it fun to toy around with the love lives of her students.

The next day, Mikan was once again partners with Natsume but still opted to sit next to Koko and to continue to ignore Natsume.

"Hey, Kana-chan. Natsume is staring at you." Koko whispered to her as she continued to sketch in her sketchbook.

"Whatever." She replied coolly and doodled a bit more.

"O-oh. He's standing up. He's making his way here. I'm so dead. Kana-" Koko was cut off when the ruby-orbed lad slammed his hands on their table. Koko was comically shivering next to Mikan who just glared at the lad and opted to ignore him onwards.

"Stop ignoring me." He first said in a calm manner. Much to his chagrin, she just ignored him. He gave an annoyed huff before repeating his words. Again, ignored.

"Stop ignoring me, dammit!" He grabbed her cheek and made her face him. She just gave him a cold stare.

"Let go of my face, Hyuuga." She spat out his name like venom.

"Not if you stop ignoring me." He retorted.

"Not likely. Whatever, you'll get tired." She just continued to stare him down, unmoving.

"Look, I don't get why you're so frustrated over something as trivial as a kiss!" Natsume exclaimed, oblivious to the fact that everyone gasped over the thought that they kissed.

"Excuse me, Hyuuga, but it is not a trivial matter. This could wholly affect our relationship as partners both in school and you-know-what." She replied calmly using you-know-what as a code name for missions.

"Oh please, we both know that you responded so wholly into it. Why be ashamed of that fact? I bet you even enjoyed it."

"I did not." Her tone was still calm but you could sense her true colors to seep in the words.

"Oh, but the moans I heard yesterday tell me you did." Again, everyone gasped. They kissed? Yesterday?

Clearly shocked, the brunette let her emotions take over and stood up causing Natsume's hand to fall from her face.

"You arrogant, boorish idiot!" She sent her hand to his face but fortunately for him, he managed to catch her hand. In the background, Koko was wide-eyed and was tempted to grab popcorn to watch the real-live drama in front of him. Hotaru was all over the place taking a video and pictures from every angle.

"Please, just stop this. It's immature and I'm sure you know that." The red-eyed lad said softly, letting go of her hand.

"No, you stop. We're just supposed to be friends, not friends with benefits. This relationship should be kept professional and should stay that way." With a tone of finality, she sat back down on her seat, refusing to look at the lad.

"You're just making this even harder than it is." Natsume ran a hand through his hair before grabbing her collar and kissing her full on the lips.

Everyone was wide-eyed while watching and a few spectators had accumulated by the door. Hotaru had dollar signs in her eyes as she continued to record the whole thing. Most of the fanboys were furious while the fangirls had hearts in their eyes seeing as they were both fans of Natsume and Mikan.

The kiss was soft and tender unlike yesterday. It was full of emotion and Natsume let the kiss do the talking. He could feel his self smile into the kiss when he felt her respond back and her hands going around his neck, her kiss just as fervent as his.

Both separated for air and Mikan looked very, very flustered. She really did enjoy it and she had clearly displayed it to everyone.

The whole room was quiet except for the sound of Hotaru's cameras.

"Don't e-ever kiss me in public again." Mikan said as she gave a weak glare towards Natsume who just gave a smug grin.

"I don't think I can abide by that rule." And again, he kissed her.

Word had spread like wildfire around the school. Word had gotten around that Mikan, er, Kana and Natsume had a make-out session during class and the pictures and videos were selling even more than All Time Low concert tickets courtesy of Hotaru.

Mikan and Hotaru walked side by side along the corridor heading for lunch. After their little exchange, they had suddenly become buddy-buddy with each other and had earned a certain amount of respect for the other.

"They're staring at me, Hotaru and it's your fault." She snarled at her friend who just shrugged.

"Not my fault that you and Hyuuga had to make-out in front of me." The violet-eyed beauty sneered as she threw around fliers about her current sale of the videos and pictures.

"You're a great friend, you know that?" Mikan replied, sarcasm laced within her words.

Hotaru had taken out a pack of crab brains when she ran out of fliers to throw and had decided to nibble on them while they walked to the cafeteria. "I know."

"Mi-Kana!" A voice called out from behind them. They saw Tsubasa run up to them holding a picture of Mikan and Natsume kissing. The brunette flushed a deep shade of red.

"Where'd you get that?" She asked, completely embarrassed that her senpai got a hold of the pictures.

"Misaki got it from Hayate who was asked by Imai to sell these in our class." He replied hoarsely, panting.

"I-I can explain." She started as she fumbled with her words.

"Seriously? Hyuuga? He's like a major jerk and you had to date him?" He lectured her like she was his older brother. Well, he almost was.

"W-we're not d-dating! He forced the kiss on me." She said softly.

Natsume

I was just walking by when I saw Andou talking to Mikan and Imai. Out of curiosity, I decided to slow down and eavesdrop on their conversation.

I can't believe that Andou jerk decided to chastise Mikan about her choice of who to kiss. Especially since I was that said person.

"Stop treating her like a little kid, Andou." I stepped in and stood by Mikan who just gave me a what-the-fuck-are-you-doing glare.

"Oh please, Hyuuga, Kana's worth more than you are." He snarled menacingly.

"Oh, and you are?" I replied with a growl, starting a fire on my left hand.

"I did not. Besides, I'm only protecting her, I'm the only real family she's got here." Family? Doesn't she have her uncle?

"Uhuh. Keep talking, bastard." I neared my fire towards the bastard.

"Guys! Guys, stop it. You two sound like children." Mikan went between us and secretly nullified the flame in my palm. "Tsubasa, you know better than to think that I and Natsume are together. We obviously are not." Ouch. That hurt. "And you, Natsume, don't butt in when I've got everything under control." She glared at both of us.

"Whatever. Just make sure not to eat each other's faces." Andou turned to leave, "Oh, and use protection!"

"Tsubasa-senpai!"

"Fine, fine. I'll lay off. Ja ne, Kana!" Andou ran away as fast as he could. Good thing because if he stayed any longer, I might have burnt his hat and his hair off.

As I was about to leave, a grip on my wrist stopped me.

"Look, Natsume, whatever happened there, let's forget about it. It's never going to work a-and, w-we're partners, this could affect our progress in missions and we would get too emotionally attached to each other. Then, what if we were to break up, then everything would break down and we wouldn't be able to complete missions properly. A-and wha-" I cut her off with another kiss. I made this one soft and tender, putting all my emotions into it.

"Let's just try. I promise you this won't affect our missions and school life. We can even keep it a secret." I tilted up her chin and looked into beautiful pools of olive and brown. "Please?" I added.

She nodded subtly and dragged me in for a quick peck on the lips. I was starting to like this already.

"Finally." I gave her a small smile. She beamed back.

"Let's get to that movie now, shall we?" She said suggesting we ditch class and watch movies instead.

"Sure." I grabbed her around the waist when I realized Imai was already gone. "Where's your friend?"

"Mmm, somewhere. Let's just go." And then we walked, my arm around her waist, towards the dorms.

"You know, Natsume, we're just going to try this, alright?" She sent a small smile my way.

I tightened my grip on her waist and neared my mouth to her ear. "Even if this is just try for both of us, I still want you to sit next to me next time. I don't think my eardrums can stand anymore of Permy." I whispered huskily into her ear.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Natsume."

When we reached my room, Mikan instantly headed straight for the couch.

"Oh lordie, it feels like I haven't been in your room for foreveeeeer." She laid back on the couch and buried her head in the pillows. I chuckled silently and made my way to look for a movie to watch.

"Pick, Lord of The Rings Marathon or The Woman In Black?" I asked as I held up the box of LOTR dvd's in one hand and the latter in the other.

"LOTR." She answered quickly.

"You're just chicken to watch The Woman In Black." I taunted. I didn't want to watch LOTR again. I'd watched the whole trilogy 5 times already.

"Am not! Fine, we'll watch that." She grumbled and kept to her side of the couch, away from my grasp.

"Hey, come here." I urged her. As girly as it sounded, I wanted to cuddle her. Thank god Koko's not here.

"No." She replied crossly and focused on the movie. It wasn't really scary but I felt Mikan shiver beside me. Either it was cold or she was scared. I smirked at the thought.

"What are you smirking about?" She asked, not looking at me.

"Nothing." I grabbed her by the waist and pinned her to my side. Even though she said she didn't want me to cuddle her, I noticed she relaxed when I brought her next to me.

I felt my smirk widen when she buried her head in my side. "Scared?" I teased as I looked at her.

She brought her head out from my side and stuck her tongue out at me. "Am not." Stubborn girl. I shook my head and chuckled when she forced herself to watch. I noticed that she shivered even more when the part that Daniel Radcliffe was stupidly looking around for the kid that came out of the swamp.

I grabbed her again by the waist and placed her on my lap. I held her tightly against my chest and buried my nose in her hair, the movie forgotten. She relaxed against me. "Feeling better are you?" I muttered, my lips against her hair.

"Very." She relaxed. I leaned on the crook of her neck, sniffing her scent.

"You smell like strawberries." I mumbled against her neck. I kissed her neck up to her cheek.

"Mhm." She replied breathlessly. I felt tingles go down my spine when she brought my hand up to her lips and kissed my knuckles.

"I don't know why we didn't do this sooner." I told her, my lips still on her cheek.

"Kiss?" She asked.

"No, go steady."

"Because you were an ass." She replied. I looked at her and removed my lips from her cheek.

"Well, you were ignoring me." I countered with a grin before giving her a peck on the lips.

"Because you were an ass." She repeated, giving me one of her kisses.

"But I'm your ass." I mumbled into the kiss. I felt her smile.

The kiss ended up very heated. She was on her back on the couch, me straddling her. My hands were trapping her under me. Hers had found their way around my neck and her fingers were playing with the hairs on my nape. "You know, we could continue this on my bed." I said as I grinned and parted. Her faced was flushed and her lips were bruised, but so were mine.

"In your dreams." She replied with a smirk on her face. Damn she looked hot.

"Always." I replied and I delved in again to kiss her. I nibbled on her bottom lip and she resisted at first, not opening her mouth. I growled and probed her closed lips with my tongue. She gasped giving me an opportunity to insert my tongue in her mouth. I felt her moan into it.

"Natsume? Natsume!" A voice said as the person pounded on the door. I groaned.

Ruka

Natsume and Kana had been gone for a long time now. Natsume had left his manga in the classroom a while ago. I had a hunch that they were together but then again, he could be in his room asleep or reading another manga. But it was unlike him to forget his manga, he should have been looking around the school looking for it. He loved those goddamned things too much.

I had an idea to look for Natsume in his room. He wasn't by the Sakura tree and he didn't eat in the cafeteria.

"Natsume? Natsume!" I pounded on his door. I heard him groan from the inside

"What?" He asked impatiently as he jerked the door open. His hair was disheveled and his lips were suspiciously bruised.

"Was I interrupting something?" I asked, suspicious.

"Yes. Now go away." He growled and almost shut the door in my face. I blocked it from closing with my foot just in time.

"You left your manga in the classroom." He held his hand out and I slowly put his manga on his hand and peered in. I saw a flash of brunette hair by the couch before Natsume blocked it from my view.

"Is Kana in there with you?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

"Go away Ruka." He snarled again. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey Kana!" I greeted and invited myself in the room just to annoy Natsume.

"Hey Ruka-pyon." Kana said as she stood up from the couch. Her hair was just as disheveled as Natsume's and her lips were just as bruised too. And… was that a hickey on her neck?

"Get out Ruka." Natsume threatened as he pushed me out.

"Yeah yeah, by the looks of things, I really have interrupted something." I said as I walked out, my smirk even wider. I wonder if there was a bug somewhere in Natsume's room. She must have gotten a video of that. I made a mental note to myself to ask her later.

"Bye Ruka-pyon." Kana said as she waved at me. Natsume pushed me out and closed the door in my face.

I chuckled. "Use protection!" I yelled at them before sprinting down the hall and made my way to Imai's. Now to get that video.