By the time they'd finished their dinner it was almost curfew. Natsume and Mikan got up to head back to their rooms. Ruka walked with them to the door and waved goodbye. Mikan walked silently behind Natsume until they were well out of earshot before asking nonchalantly, "So where did you go earlier?" Natsume who'd been waiting for her to ask, smirked, "What makes you think I'd tell you?" Mikan glared, "Why do you have to be such a jerk all the time? Just tell me where you went! I mean, It's not like you can't trust me!" "Says the girl who drugged me just this afternoon." Natsume pointed out. Mikan flushed as she remembered and shook her head, "That was-" "For my own good?" Natsume cut her off. "Well then let's just say I don't want any one doing anything for my own good anymore." Mikan stopped walking, head down, forcing Natsume to stop and look at her quizzically. She looked up at him then, and Natsume realised her eyes were too bright, almost as if, "Are you crying?" Natsume asked, horrified that he'd driven her to tears. He walked up to her and caught her chin, "What's the matter with you? It's not like I always tell you where I've been and what I do.." Mikan shook her head as she wiped her face, "It's not that. I just don't want you to think you can't trust me. I mean I would never betray you! You know that, right!?" She asked him earnestly, skewering him with her intense gaze. Natsume slapped his forehead as he sighed, "Don't you think you're being a little too sensitive? I don't even understand how we got to this branch of the conversation." Mikan glowered at him as she spoke scathingly, "Well excuse me for being too sensitive. It's certainly my mistake that I was worried about you and cared enough to make sure you got some rest. It was also my mistake thinking that you would understand because you trusted me. Don't worry, it won't happen again." She straightened and walked past Natsume in a huff or atleast tried to. Tried and failed, because Natsume caught her wrist as she tried to walk past him and pushed her back against the trunk of a nearby tree, and holding both her wrists above her head with one hand, swiftly and effectively restricting her movements. "That's not what I meant and you know it." "How am I supposed to know what you meant when you can't even be bothered to answer a simple question with a straight answer?" Mikan demanded, glaring at him as she struggled to remove her wrists from his hand. Natsume growled at her as he grabbed her wrists even tighter, "There's nothing simple about where I go or what I do! You of all people should know that! For your information I went out to see Persona. Are you happy now? I can't believe you're making such a big deal out of this!" Mikan stomped her right foot on Natsume's left foot with all her might as she yelled, "You're such an idiot!! You don't even understand the question I asked!! How dare you make me sound like I'm some kind of annoying interfering child!!" Natsume winced, both at the sharp pain shooting up his foot and the volume of Mikan's voice as she shouted in his ear. Despite the pain, he quickly went over their conversation mentally trying to figure out the question he had unwittingly ignored answering, when it struck him. As he realised why she was so upset, he chuckled, setting Mikan off. "I'm so glad I've managed to entertain you with my attitude. My life's purpose has been fulfilled. If you could please just let me go now?" However her attempt at sarcasm was ruined by the break in her voice towards the end of her sentence. Knowing he'd hurt her without meaning to, Natsume spoke softly, leaning close to Mikan's face, "Mikan." Shocked at hearing him say her name, Mikan stilled. It was extremely rare for him to use her name. During the six years they had spent at the academy, he had only used her name 3 times. Each occasion had been extremely memorable in its own way. Natsume looked at her as he spoke slowly, making sure she understood. "I know that." Mikan's eyes widened as she realised that he had finally understood her question and was answering her honestly. Realising how close they were to each other and unable to resist, Natsume caressed her cheek, causing her to blush and felt a tug in the pit of his gut in response. Knowing it wasn't the time or place he banked his emotions and pulled away, releasing her as he stepped back. Disoriented, it took Mikan a few moments to find her balance as she tried to figure out why she was feeling so hot on such a cold night. Natsume distracted her by continuing walking and giving her information she wouldn't be able to resist, "Persona will be calling up students from the special abilities class to train them for missions. You will also have to participate. Your job is to find me whenever it's time for you to train. If you cannot find me, find Andou and stick with him. Do you understand?" Mikan nodded seriously, falling into step and forgetting everything else as Natsume had hoped. "So what kind of training will he be giving?" Natsume shook his head, "He wasn't specific. But it will probably involve enhancing your abilities. His priority will be in increasing your usefulness, not ensuring your safety. So we will focus on your physical strength first." "Do you really think I will be able to learn to fight like you?" Mikan asked tonelessly. "If you don't, I will have to hide you somewhere and fight the entire academy to keep them from looking for you. Is that really what you want?" His tone was so matter-of-fact that all Mikan could do was stop walking and gape at him. Realising she had stopped, Natsume turned around and lifted a brow at her, "What?" Mikan swallowed as she started to walk slowly, "Sometimes I can't really tell when you're being serious and when you're joking." Natsume chuckled wryly, "If anyone has a chance at figuring that out, it's you." He may only have been half joking but Mikan felt a warm thrill spread inside her at his words.