My Little Secret: Chapter 19

#01: Gakuen Alice (Natsume & Mikan)
...xXx...

Nooooo! Our Natsume-sama is dancing with Mikan Sakura, the fan girls screamed mentally while the fan boys glared the fire caster with jealousy in their eyes.
"Natsume…" Mikan called while they were still dancing.
"…"
"I'm sorry," she apologised as she looked into his crimson eyes.
"…"
I have to tell her now, Natsume thought and stopped dancing. He then led her out of the hall.
She was confused. "Natsume, where are we going?"
He ignored her and kept on walking.
She felt awkward being dragged around and snapped at him, "Natsume!"
"Be quiet and just follow me," he said in a whisper.
Mikan stayed silent and let him lead them out. Then, after a while of walking, they arrived at the sakura tree, the same tree where she rested after the mission with her brother months ago. She then realised something. Don't tell me he saw my face that night…
"Mi—"
"Natsume, do you come to this sakura tree often?"
"Yeah, I do. Why?" Did she realise that I saw her face on that night?
"I was just curious…" she replied, not really wanted to ask if he saw her that night.
"Mikan, where have you been?"
"I'm sorry for not telling you anything. I went back to America together with Nii-san." She looked at him in the eye. "I know you hate this academy since my brother was kind of force you to help him on missions. However, Nii-san is not a bad person. He—"
"I know," he interrupted her immediately. With a hush voice, he said again, "I know…"
"Aoi, did he hurt you?" Natsume asked his little sister worriedly as he checked her body and arms for any abuse marks.
Aoi stared at him, confused. "He?"
"Persona." he stated as he tried to stay calm.
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Onii-chan, do you hate Mikan-nee-chan's brother?"
"Just answer me, Aoi," he said at once.
She shook her head. "Actually, Persona-sensei tried to save me but he had no luck until Mikan-nee-chan come to help me out from the AAO."
He was shocked to hear that. "How do you know that he was trying to save you?"
"When I was still held captive by the AAO, I often heard commotion of someone attacking the warehouse where I was held. I soon learnt that person was Persona-sensei. He was trying to save me numerous times already but failed. Until Mikan-nee-chan came along, that is."
I really hate this academy… but because of this academy, I… met you, Natsume thought as he looked at the girl beside him. "Mi—"
"Onee-chan! Otou-san is looking for you!" Again, someone interrupted him again, and this time, it was Youichi. He sighed.
Mikan turned to her younger brother. "You-chan! Where's Otou-san now?"
"Otou-san is in the hall, Onee-chan."
"Sorry, Natsume, I have to go," she said and gave him a peck.
"Come on, You-chan," she gushed at the little boy and left Natsume alone.
Am I dreaming or did she just kiss me? Natsume touched his burning cheek where she had kissed him.
As Mikan made her way back to the hall, she was blushing. She didn't know or wasn't sure why she kissed him. Though, it was only on the cheek.
"Ah! Mikan-chan, you're finally here," Narumi-sensei said with a smile.
"Where is Otou-san, Narumi-sensei?"
"Principal-san has already gone back to his office."
"Oh, then I will go to the Principal's office." She turned to look at her little brother. "You-chan—"
"Onee-chan, I want to come with you," he cut her off.
"Alright, let's go." She smiled and left without being noticed by the group.
Not long after Mikan left with Youichi, Anna finally noticed the brunette was not with them, "Where is Mikan-chan?"
It was Aoi, who replied her, "Mikan-nee-chan went to meet Principal-san together with Youichi."
Iinchou began, "How do—"
"Don't tell me you don't know anything," Nonoko interrupted him with wide-eyed. It was not a secret anymore that Youichi and Aoi liked each other.
Iinchou blinked then understood what had happened. "Oh."
"Hotaru-chan is not here, too," Anna stated.
"Maybe she's with Mikan-chan," Nonoko guessed.
Meanwhile…
Izumi began, "I'm so—"
"I understand, Otou-san," she interrupted her father. She merely smiled at him.
Youichi was not happy. "Otou-san, why must Onee-chan have to go back now? She should be—"
"You-chan, please understand. Even though the fight has already ended, Gakuen Alice of United States still needs Onee-chan to fix everything up again. Remember our pinky promise?"
"Alright, I will miss you, Onee-chan…" You-chan hugged her, and she hugged him back.
"You have to go back after the ball ended," her father informed apologetically.
She nodded. "I understand."
"Mikan," Hotaru called out quietly.
Mikan turned to look at her best friend. "Hotaru, I have a favor…"
At the end of the Christmas ball, Narumi took the stage again. "Finally, we have reached the end for tonight' wonderful ball, everyone. As you all had requested, Mikan-chan will present another song for us! This song will be sung along with Natsume-kun!"
Natsume-sama will sing with Mikan Sakura? The fan girls gasped, and the fan boys silently cried, No… Mikan-sama will sing with Natsume Hyuuga.
"Let's welcome both of them," Narumi said happily, and the music started playing.

(Bold: Natsume – Italic: Mikan – Bold&Italic: Natsume&Mikan)
Even like this, the two of us came from far away
We cannot return to your smile
From when you were young, back then anymore
I love the world in which you laugh
And I want to be by your side, just that
With pains that I started to forget in my chest
Time goes by
The flow of time changes the two of us
But the things that we've lost and things that we dream of, too
I will take your hand and remember them
I am always by your side
Because I want to remember even the sad things
On your map
Please leave a page for me
The wind that blows from the future
You believed in it back then
Tomorrow, soar up higher…
Time goes by
Even if time passes, I am sure that unchanging things exist
Because I can't reach them, because I want to find them
I will go search for the wings of dreams
Please be by my side, forever…
I will be by your side, forever…

Everyone cheered when Mikan bowed to the audience, but Natsume rolled his eyes. Both walked back to the backstage holding hands, surprising the group, and they went to sakura tree together. When they reached there, Mikan leaned against the tree and closed her eyes. "Resting on this tree is really relaxing."
Suddenly, she heard her brother's voice from her earpiece. "It's time."
"Mi—"
"I'm sorry, Natsume. I have to go now," she said, interrupted him once again. It was too bad that she couldn't tell him that she was leaving again. She stood up and started to walk away, but he grabbed her wrist. Before she could say anything, he already locked her lips with his. She was shocked. Natsume…
She closed her eyes and kissed him back. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, he pulled her closer with his arms around her waist. He deepened the kiss by exploring her mouth with his tongue. The kiss lasted for over a minute before they broke apart for air. They looked into each other eyes before hugging each other.
After he broke the hug, he gave her a gentle peck and whispered, "See you tomorrow, Mikan."
When he walked away from her, she watched his silhouette disappearing and sadly thought, I'm so sorry, Natsume…

Prev Chapter 1—The Arrival Chapter 2—The New Student Chapter 3—The Older Brother Chapter 4—The Younger Brother Chapter 5—The Partner Chapter 6—The Fans Chapter 7—The Name Chapter 8—The New Guy Chapter 9—The Truth Chapter 10—The Mission Chapter 11—The Kiss Chapter 12—The Sacrifice Chapter 13—The Time Chapter 14—The Promise Chapter 15—The End of Time Chapter 16—The Reason Chapter 17—The Dream Chapter 18—The Dance Chapter 19—The Departure Chapter 20—The Little Secret Next