Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice
A/N :
I know, I know.. I'm very late and I'm very sorry. But it's been hectic and I'm doing my best! Thanks once again to Mikan2007 who has been my only constant reviewer; You have no idea how much you mean to me!! And without further delay;
End A/N.
The drop of a pin would have passed for an explosion in the silence that followed Natsume's question. Tsubasa swallowed, as he turned to face a furious Black Cat. "Hey there! How's your injury?"
Mikan, who'd stood frozen, snapped out of it at the word injury and promptly began yelling at Natsume. "What do you think you're doing? I told you to rest and eat and go to see Ruka!"
Natsume ignored her and continued to glare at Tsubasa, or more accurately, at Tsubasa's hand that still held Mikan's. Following his gaze, Tsubasa's quickly let go of Mikan's hand. "Why don't I just go to class and let everyone know you're busy?" He started edging away before she could respond.
Mikan frowned, "But you haven't told me what I wanted to know!"
"Maybe later.." Natsume's death glare had him retracting, "I mean, there's really nothing left to say. I've already told you everything I know!"
Upset and confused as Tsubasa scurried away, Mikan rounded on Natsume, "What was that all about? I've accepted the fact that you won't tell me anything you consider unnecessary. But I refuse to let you stop me from getting my information any other way." She folded her hands across her chest and glared at Natsume, who simply turned his back on her and kept walking. Mikan's jaw dropped as she watched him walk away and she quickly collected herself as she followed after him, yelling, "Wait, you abominable jerk! How could you just walk away like that?" Natsume stopped suddenly, only to be jerked forward by Mikan slamming into him from behind. He turned around to glare at Mikan as she resolutely glared back. "It's not my fault you stopped without warning. And it was very rude of you to scare Tsubasa out of giving me any information!" She huffed. Natsume stared at Mikan and asked, "Are you forgetting just how rude you have been by drugging me against my will and having me eat porridge?" Mikan blinked as she remembered what she had done and smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head unconsciously, "Oh that... Well.. That was for your own good! You were behaving like a baby so I had to treat you like one." She explained but shrank at Natsume's unrelenting gaze, "Okay fine, I'm very sorry I tranq'ed you without your permission." She joined both palms in apology. "Hn. Whatever." was Natsume's response and he turned back around and kept walking. Stunned and furious, Mikan picked up a stone and threw it past his ear, making him stop and turn around. "It's your turn to apologise." She spoke slowly through gritted teeth in answer to his questioning gaze. Natsume replied, "I'm not going to apologise." Knowing he was baiting her, Mikan fought for calm. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, and then spoke cheerfully, "You know what, you should go on ahead. I'm just going to go find Tsubasa. I have a feeling I can get him to talk when you're not around." Saying it, she turned around only to smack right into Natsume's muscular chest. "Ow! How do you do that!?" She exclaimed and immediately remembering his injury, she smacked him on his arm. "Stop moving around like that while you're injured! You could reopen your wound like that!" He winced as he rubbed his arm where she had smacked it, muttering, "You would probably cause me more damage than I would." Her eyes narrowed as she asked, "What was that?" Sighing, Natsume shook his head as he said, "Nevermind, just come with me." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along as he headed on to see Ruka. Mikan followed along until she remembered that she had been on her way to see Tsubasa and tried to free her hand from Natsume's grip. But he wouldn't let her go. He did acknowledge her struggle by glancing back and raising one eyebrow. "I was going the other way." She ground out. "I don't want you to." He said simply as he kept pulling her along. Frustrated but seeing no other way, she finally fell into step with him and tried to make conversation. "So where are we going?" "To see Ruka." "But why do you need me with you to see Ruka?" "I don't." Praying for patience, she kept her voice steady as she asked, "Then why are you dragging me along?" "Because I don't want you going to see Andou." Before she could explode, Mr. Narumi's voice stopped them both. "Well Well Well, if it isn't Natsume Hyuga. I was wondering if I'd run into you today." "Mr. Narumi!" Mikan spoke quickly, knowing Natsume would simply be very rude and end up getting punished even more if he spoke, "Natsume just wasn't feeling well this morning and he actually did tell me to tell you but I forgot!" Mr. Narumi smiled at her knowingly and asked, "I see. Did he go to the hospital and get a medical certificate for it?" Mikan stared at him blankly, "Umm, Are we supposed to?" Natsume sighed at her cluelessness, "I didn't. You can just mark my absence as unauthorised." Mr. Narumi nodded, smiling, "Alright then. Since you haven't been feeling well often these days, I'm assigning your partner to monitor your movements for one week. During this time, Ms. Sakura will stay with you at all times including classes, excluding the times when you might have to act on behalf of the Dangerous Ability Class. You are allowed to be alone for about 30 minutes every 3 hours. You can't combine the 30 minutes with the next gap. Meaning if you forgo the use of your 30 minutes, it lapses. And your punishment for missing my class this morning without informing me is detention with me for the next 3 days. I'll see you in my office after classes get over." Natsume's eyes widened as he met Mr. Narumi's guileless gaze, "Narumi-" Mr. Narumi tutted, "Now now, is that any way to address your professor?" Natsume glared and then took a deep breath, "Mr. Narumi, I am fine now. I don't need anyone to monitor my movements." Mikan, who'd been listening to the exchange silently, spoke up, "You're right, Mr. Narumi. He's not fine. I will keep an eye on him this week." Mr. Narumi spoke cheerfully, taking advantage of the situation, "I'm glad you see my generosity, Mikan. But I must warn you this is your responsibility too. If he disobeys me, both of you will be held responsible for his actions. And I may not have any control over the kind of punishments the council might decide for you both. So take this seriously and don't let him out of your sight. If you feel like it's hard to control him, you can always ask Ms. Imai for help." So saying, he winked and walked away. Natsume cursed internally as he watched Mr. Narumi walk away. "Damn! He got me." Eyes narrowed, Mikan stood in front of Natsume, "You're behaving very oddly. Why don't you want to be monitored? Why does Mr. Narumi want you monitored? And why would he choose me when he could just as easily have asked Ruka? We both know he wouldn't involve me in your business if he could avoid it. So start explaining. In a way that I can understand." Natsume surveyed her for a full minute before sighing, "First let's just go to Ruka's room. I'll explain everything there."