A/N: Thanks for over 500 reviews. You are all lovely people and I love you guys very much =)

Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

Chapter 23 A Fresh New Beginning

Mikan sat on the floor thoroughly confused as she watched Natsume's retreating figure. Why was he angry? Why was he leaving? Why wasn't she standing up and chasing after him?

"Wait…" she muttered staring at the doorher voice cracked and raspy. "Don't go" she stood up slowly grabbing the edge of the couch to steady herself.

"Don't leave me all alone" she cried softly.

The next instant she was sprinting out the door as the real meaning of her dream dawned on her.

'Not alone' she thought running to catch up to him.

Natsume could not stop himself from looking back one last time. He knew that after everything that had happened leaving this way would be for the best; maybe not the one he preferred but still, with this it was all finally over.

He felt the weariness of the last few weeks as if it had been years. He sighed and looked around taking in every single sight and feeling, trying to memorize it all. If the future held nothing for him but a dull grey existence of watching his own life passing him by, at least he wanted to keep the memories of what it was like to hold the reins himself. Even though he knew time would manage to turn it into nothing but a distant dream it was worth something now. Or perhaps he was just attempting to stall the inevitable.

As he kept walking forward he vaguely thought he could hear footsteps behind him but chose to ignore it convinced it was just the wind. The faint sound of a voice calling his name in the distance caught his attention for a moment but he shrugged it off as his wishful mind playing tricks on him again.

It's not me. The little voice in his head prompted helpfully.

Natsume stopped, more than a bit surprised by the fact that he was talking to himself again. Still this did not give him much time to react when he heard Mikan's voice calling him once more and suddenly colliding with his back, locking him in a very awkward embrace.

See? Told you it wasn't me. The voice repeated. Natsume did not know which situation needed more urgent attention, Mikan or the voice inside his head.

I can wait. Natsume could swear that he actually saw his face smirking at him inside his head but tried to erase the thought not really wanting to admit he was going slightly insane, but just slightly.

"Please don't go" Mikan finally spoke after catching her breath.

He was completely confused. Hadn't she just said she couldn't bear to look at him? What on earth could she possibly be thinking to ask him to stay?

"If you go I-." her face burrowed against his back "I don't remember how to be alone anymore!"

It was a very odd thing for her to say, he thought, she had never had to be alone after all. He on the other hand had a long history of being by himself. Over the years it had become a normal thing for him. With time he had grown accustomed to the loneliness and the feeling of…

… Feeling of what again?

And suddenly it hit him… he didn't remember how to be alone either. Perhaps it had not been such an odd thing to say.

"How can I possibly stay by your side?" he asked hesitantly "When you can't even bear to look me in the eyes?"

"I can't" she replied immediately "I don't want to see-."

"To see your parents' murderer in me!" he snapped not bothering to keep his bottled up anger in anymore.

"NO!" she cried desperately clinging to his arm to keep him from running away. "What are you saying? I've never thought like that even for a second!"

"Then why won't you face me!" he swirled around and caught her shoulders. Mikan quickly lowered her head and stared at the ground making Natsume even more frustrated.

"I don't want to see the remorse in your eyes" she finally said in a soft voice taking him completely by surprise.

Mikan raised her head but kept her eyes closed still refusing to look into his eyes. She was not crying anymore but the dried tracks of shed tears were still visible on her cheeks.

"Why do you have to be the one to feel sorry? Why do you have to be the one to be regretful! It's not fair for you to carry his guilt as your own! You didn't do anything wrong!" she paused and took a deep breath to steady herself "I know it's also my fault that you feel like that. That's why I don't want to see it, because I should be the one apologizing."

"What are you talking about you idiot? Why would you have to apologize for anything? I'm the one who didn't trust you'd be able to tell me apart from him anymore."

"Yeah, but I never told you otherwise…" her voice trailed off and she opened her eyes to finally look into his "Because honestly when you told me the truth I didn't know either… whether I'd be able to tell you apart."

Natsume was completely taken aback by the straightforwardness of the statement. If anything he figured she would either lie about it or not mention it at all.

"But I realized something as I read through my uncle's diary. The only thing you and that man share is your last name."

'Like father like son' Masao's words echoed in his head.

"What if it's not like that?" he asked her seriously "What if I am more like him than I think? I haven't precisely been a model person lately."

"You are not-."

"How do you know! I've used people like tools and hurt my family to achieve my selfish goals! In what way does that differ from my father?" he pressed his palms firmly over his eyes "This is just proof that I'm exactly like him, a selfish, Machiavellian bastard."

Mikan held his hands and gently pulled them away from his face. "Like I was saying, you are not like that at all."

"How do you figure? For all I know I'm the spawn of Lucifer himself. What makes you think I'm not evil then?"

"Because evil doesn't wonder if what they did was wrong." She explains simply.

"Ho-?"

"Because it's written all over your face." She smiles gently at him "And before you ask, yes, I can read minds. Satisfied?"

"I wasn't gonna ask… I'd already figured." He answered feeling relieved. Those few words she had spoken were exactly what he needed to hear. Masao was wrong, no matter what other's thought or said about him, he was not like his father. "I'm sorry" he added later as an afterthought.

"For what?"

"For walking out on you at a time like this… you have enough going on right now to have to add me being a jerk."

"I'm glad actually. If you hadn't been here I would probably be brooding in the corner of my room." She admitted pitifully "So at least one good thing came out of this whole mess."

"I think we should head back… it's kind of cold out here" he said taking her hand and walking back as a stray snowflake landed on his hand. "Let's hope it piles up…" he commented as thousands of white lumps started covering the ground.

Mikan stood frozen in front of the dark wooden door. From time to time she would reach out for the handle but would stop abruptly halfway through. Around the fifth time this happened Natsume started growing impatient.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her.

"No- I mean yes! I'm one-hundred percent completely sure." Her shaky hesitant voice begged to differ.

"All right, open the door then, come on." He urged "If not I will."

"Maybe we should, you know, do it later…" she suggested nervously.

"Alright, that's IT." Natsume extended his hand and took hold of the handle but Mikan quickly grabbed his wrist before he could turn it.

"Wait! Can we talk about it first?"

"No."

"But it's too sudden, don't you think?"

"Look if you don't want to…"

"No, no. I do. I just I… I'm nervous."

"You're getting cold feet now?" Natsume looked at her and sighed "It'll be fine I promise."

Mikan took a deep breath and placed her hand over his.

"Okay… on the count of three." He said as he tightened his grip on the handle. "Three!" he called and without giving her time to think he pushed the door open and dragged her into the room.

Masao was shocked beyond words to see both teens stumbling into his study, literally. He stared at them with his mouth agape. They all stood in silence waiting for someone to start a conversation. Natsume, being the impatient type was the first one to yield.

"Nice weather isn't it?" he prompted stupidly.

Masao and Mikan nodded absentmindedly both staring at each other in horror.

"Maybe I should go?" he asked looking between the two but as he was about to walk out Mikan grabbed his hand, although her eyes never left her uncle's.

"I thought I would have a million things to say to you when this time came" she began hesitantly "I thought I would scream and cry that I hated you and that you ruined my life…"

Masao did not respond, he sat looking at her and accepting her every word, he knew he deserved that and much more. But he would not show surprise or hurt, for he was not entitled to feel either.

"Still I… now that I'm here and you're here I…" she paused and squeezed Natsume's hand to find some reassurance "I know that you are not a bad man, you just messed up and made some really shitty choices. So, what happened can't be changed and that's why I want to try and slowly make things right from now on."

"There is no righting the wrongs I have done!" Masao shouted in exasperation. Why? Why was he being given a second chance! He did not deserve kindness! He did not deserve forgiveness! Where was the punishment he had been expecting all these years? Why was he being allowed back into heaven! "There is no going back to Eden after tasting the Forbidden Fruit!" he screeched holding his head in his hands.

"No, there's not." Mikan replied softly "But the history of Men started after they were banished from Paradise. That's when they finally started living for themselves."

Masao and Natsume both stared at her in astonishment, for completely different reasons.

"Why?" the older Sakura asked "How can you show compassion to me? I have caused you nothing but pain and yet… how can you respond with forgiveness?"

"Don't misunderstand. I'm not forgiving you." She explained "Besides, forgiveness should come from you first..."

The faint ghost of a tiny smile graced Masao's face for an instant. "Really, you people are…" he muttered under his breath. Somehow he felt incredibly light; perhaps he had been wrong to search for forgiveness all these years.

"I probably won't ever be able to forgive you for what you did, but in order to move forward you need to let go of the past holding you back first."

Masao chuckled lightheartedly "Truly the most beautiful flower always blooms in adversity…" he commented glancing quickly at a very astounded looking Natsume. "Thank you" he continued turning back to her "You can't possibly imagine how much those words mean to me. I had no idea you were such an extraordinary girl…"

"Ditto" Natsume cut in staring at her impressed.

"So umm... I'm thinking we should start over from scratch and see how that goes." She suggested meekly. "If- if you want of course, since we didn't exactly start off with the right foot and all-."

"You… want to start over? You would willingly give me a second chance?"

"I read your diary." She confessed readily and without the tiniest hint of guilt "So I figured that we might as well correct some misunderstandings from the get go; you know, to prevent future trouble, I believe everything should be perfectly clear from the start."

Masao nodded in agreement.

"Right, so… I'm not entirely sure how to go about this." A long silence set in the room as Mikan thought of what to say next "So uh… maybe we should take a walk?"

Natsume stayed behind despite Mikan's insistence on him coming along. He thought this was really not something he should be meddling into. He assured her he would be watching her back all the time so that she would not be alone at all.

The house was in complete riot. Every maid and butler in the place had found a comfortable space in front of a window to stare at the most incredible event they had ever seen in the mansion. Gossip traveled fast and soon Natsume too was chattering with the servants while happily chomping on some snacks they had provided him.

On the other hand Mikan and Masao walked in awkward silence. Even though the hardest part was apparently over, neither knew what to say. This was a situation none of them would have ever imagined they would ever be in. Who would have said that it was harder to get along than to fight it out?

They both glanced to the side once in a while to check whether the other was staring. Perhaps small talk was the way to go in this situation…

"So-." they both started at the same time and immediately shut up as they realized the other was also speaking.

"You go" Mikan said after an uncomfortable pause wondering if it was alright to speak.

"No, no, ladies first..." Masao answered quickly.

Mikan sighed deeply "This isn't really working as I'd imagined…"

"Well I'd never imagined this could even happen."

"Unlikely things happen all the time…" she said.

"Million to one chances crop up nine out of ten times…" Masao commented.

"Good one." Mikan said smiling slightly.

"Yuuka used to say that al-." Masao stopped abruptly and looked away considering that maybe that subject was not entirely appropriate for the occasion. "I'm sorry" he muttered afterwards.

"It's okay. It's not gonna be less real because you avoid talking about it."

Masao scoffed, all this time he had been trying to convince himself about the exact opposite; and now this girl came along and wrecked up everything he had always felt so sure about. Now he was not sure about anything anymore.

"I don't think I'm the right person to talk to you about this."

"No, you're not. But there's also no one else." She looked at him seriously "We both know what happened and you might as well start accepting it because I'm here to make sure you will never be able to forget."

"What will you have me do then! Tell you in excruciating detail everything about the hell my life has been ever since Yukihira appeared!" Masao shouted finally losing control.

Mikan slapped him. It was not a premeditated action but somehow she felt like it was something she had been waiting to do.

"The hell YOUR life has been! What about his huh? What about hers? What about mine!" she shouted "Have you stopped to think for even one second that you are not the only person in the planet you selfish jerk!"

Masao did not flinch. He looked back at her ready to accept anything she threw his way.

"Why don't you say anything?" she slapped him again desperately looking for a reaction "You are quick to snap when it's about YOUR suffering but when it's about theirs -ours- you just-."

"Nothing I say will make it better." He responded calmly "You turn to me expecting answers, reasons, excuses… there are none. As well as you are unable to forgive me, I'm unable to forgive him. That is all there is to it."

"Forgive him for what? For letting you KILL him!" Mikan started repeatedly slapping him and soon extended hands curled into fists as she weakly punched his chest tears flowing from her eyes. "What is with you! Why won't you say anything for yourself! Why aren't you apologizing and telling me how much you regret what you did! How am I supposed to move on if it isn't over if you haven't moved on?"

"Because I can never move on, if I do there will be no one left to remember. If no one remembers then it is not real and I must keep it so, for her sake… I owe it to-."

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK YOU OWE!" she cried at the top of her lungs in exasperation. "You owe them your life, and even that wouldn't be enough!

This sickening quest for redemption you are on it's not for them. IT'S FOR YOU! I won't allow you to keep using their names as an excuse for your pathetic little existence. If you think you deserve to die fine, go ahead and kill yourself, but don't go brining her into this because you are a coward!"

"If you are so convinced I should be dead then why don't you kill me! Isn't that what you want?"

"I would like nothing more than to see you pay for what you've done but…" she said looking at him with defiant eyes "I will never EVER become like you."

Masao stared at her in disbelief. The readiness with which she had accepted had amazed him. Never in his life had he crossed anyone so willing to honestly speak their mind to him it was such a refreshing change.

"That being said, what happens next is up to you. I have taken the first step, so what will it be?"

They looked at each other for a moment and Masao nodded, an unspoken treaty of no-hostility was set with just that.

"So businesslike handshake or…?" Mikan's unfinished question was answered as Masao attempted a fatherly hug and failed miserably not exactly knowing how to go about it.

"Too much?" he asked as he stood awkwardly close to Mikan's but not quite touching her, his hands stiffly hovering a fair distance away from her back.

"Too much" she replied as they both slowly backed away and quickly shook hands just to make a point out of it.

The mansion was in complete uproar, Natsume could not really understand why. The maids were hugging and some of the older ones he noticed even had tears in their eyes. Much clapping and excited talk ensued and he was completely baffled by it.

The butlers were seemingly busy arranging something in dining hall and soon the maids joined in. Natsume followed them quickly into the kitchen and watched as people came in and out of it with covered trays.

A second later one of the younger girls went skipping into the kitchen and announced they were heading back. Everyone set to work twice as fast and came running to the entrance a moment later after they were seemingly done. They all stood up in two lines, one at each side of the door and stood perfectly still although Natsume could see some of the younger maids fidgeting and giggling.

One of the butlers quickly prompted him to stand between the two lines at the foot of the huge stairs. Without asking anything he quickly did it and looked around at every single employee straightening their uniforms and wiping away invisible dust. He started feeling somewhat inadequate and mimicked their actions. The doorknob turned slowly and as the door was pushed open he could not help but bow down like the rest of the staff did, although he felt slightly silly afterwards.

"WELCOME HOME OJOU-SAMA!" A loud chant echoed throughout the room as everyone greeted excitedly when Mikan came into the house.

Mikan's eyes widened and she blushed furiously. Not knowing what else to do, she quickly bowed and ran straight to hide her face in Natsume's chest. This was the first time she had ever had so many people who actually looked happy to see her. Natsume was about to make a joke out of it but Masao spoke first.

"Now look what you've all done!" he exclaimed "You've made her embarrassed. That's why I said not to make a big deal out of it."

'He's joking with them?' Natsume thought 'Who knew he had a human side to him?'

"But it is a truly joyous occasion!" one of the older maids said "To be able to welcome Mikan-sama like this, to us is-."

"Okay, okay, let's get dinner ready shall we Harada-san? This has been awkward enough" Masao said trying to diminish the weirdness of the situation.

All of the staff went back to work except for the older one, Harada-san. She smiled sweetly at Mikan who was immediately reminded of her grandfather and could not help but smile back.

"Young master" the lady spoke and Natsume looked at her but she was not addressing him.

"I've told you countless times I'm not a child anymore Harada-san; please stop addressing me as one." Masao huffed.

"I am glad you finally understood." She answered smiling at him "Now go wash your hands before dinner."

Masao sighed in defeat as if he had been through this a thousand times before but obediently did as he was told. Mikan and Natsume both watched as he went up the stairs and disappeared into one of the corridors.

"He is not a bad man you see" the old lady spoke "He has been lonely for so long… ever since Izumi -."

"You know Yukihira Izumi?" Mikan cut her off suddenly.

"Of course I do dear." She replied softly "What kind of grandmother would I be if I didn't?"

A/N: Maybe this seemed really farfetched to most of you, but I sincerely hope you like the way things went down in the end.

As always thanks so much for reading, honestly hope you still enjoy this small piece of my imagination. I love you guys so much for reading even though I know you hate me (I know I deserve it.)

QUESTION: I'm wondering if any of you would like a short (I'm thinking a three-shot) about Izumi and Yuuka's story, a sort of prequel to this one. Let me know what you think.

To be continued…