I Love You: Chapter 4

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

Mikan looked at the dark sky through the window of her room. Her voice was gone.

'Serves you right. This is what you get for defying me.'

She gasped as she realised that was the voice of the black witch.

'Yes, it was I who placed the curse on you.'

She stayed silent, and the black witch left her alone.

That was three days prior to finding the black witch's corpse.

Everyone in the village was worried about her. They were holding a meeting with her parents at the moment, and she had been staying in her room since that morning as she did not feel like going out.

"It's late. What are you doing, Mikan?" a voice asked her.

She turned around to look at the owner of the voice. Her childhood friend, Hotaru Imai, and Yome Kokoroyomi were standing beside her.

Mikan gave them a smile before grabbing her notepad and writingthat she was still looking for stars.

Hotaru sat beside her and held her hands. "We'll go to the white witch's place tomorrow."

"Will you come with us to meet her?" continued Koko.

Smiling, Mikan nodded in agreement.

The black witch who placed the curse upon her was dead. They had found her corpse after a few days of searching. Their last resort was to look for the white witch. Hopefully, the witch could help her. Mikan sighed mentally as she wrote goodnight to her friends. After they left her, she climbed into bed. Closing her eyes, she let sleep take over her.

It was already late afternoon when they arrived at the white witch's home. The white witch was an elderly woman but not older than her grandmother.

"Hajimemashite, Mikan-chan," the woman greeted with a smile.

Mikan bowed slightly in reply. She smiled and replied through her mind, 'Hajimemashite, Shira-san.'

Shira smiled warmly at her guests before announcing, "I know the reason for your presence here."

Everyone's faces lightened up with hope, but Shira bowed her head apologetically. "I'm sorry; I can't help you."

When her mother was about to ask, Shira already beat her to it by explaining things she knew that would help her. Only time could lift the curse she was carrying right now. Shira offered them to stay for the night, so here they were, in the white witch's house.Not feeling sleepy, Mikan walked out from her assigned room and sat down on a bench right in front of the house.

"Mikan-chan…" Shira-san called.

Mikan looked at her and smiled. 'Shira-san.'

Then, she realised that she had forgotten to bring her notepad with her.

"Don't worry about it, Mikan-chan. I'm a witch, remember?"

'You are.'

"There's something that I need to tell you, Mikan-chan."

Mikan remained silent.

"I didn't tell your parents about this because this is entirely about your life."

Mikan felt her heart stopped beating at the moment.

"Please hear me out first, Mikan-chan."

After letting out the breath she was holding, she nodded.

"When the time is right, he will come to you."

Mikan blinked. 'It will be a boy?'

Shira chuckled. "Why? You don't like the idea about it?"

A blush coloured her face. 'N-not really.'

"It's OK, Mikan-chan." Shira held her hands. "I just need to tell you, your inner heart will decide for you. I don't know which one will come to you first, but I need to warn you if the chosen onedescends from royal blood, there will be a price to be paid if he agrees to help you."

'More than one person can help me?' Mikan asked.

"Yes, more than one person," Shira confirmed.

'Royal blood means… a prince?'

"You could say that."

'But Shira-san… what about the price?'

Shira looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry; I'm not allowed to tell you what the price is."

Mikan sighed dejectedly but nodded her head. 'I understand, Shira-san. Thank you for telling me this.'

Mikan let her tears run down her face. I can't let him help me…

...xXx...

After a few minutes of silence, Natsume demandingly asked the group, "Well?"

Natsume looked at Ruka to find an answer from him, but he got nothing.

Koko sighed. "Another problem is you, Natsume-san."

Natsume raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You're a prince, so you come from royal blood."

Hotaru added, "The white witch told Mikan that if the chosen one comes from a royal blood, there will be a price to be paid if he agrees to help her."

I see, Natsume thought before indifferently asking them, "What's the price then?"

"We don't know," Hotaru and Koko replied in unison.

That's why she said I'm not the one she is looking for, Natsume thought silently.

Suddenly, Koko said, "Mikan-chan thought it's too risky for both of you because we don't know what the price is."

Natsume stared at him suspiciously.

"I'm sorry, Natsume-san. I didn't mean to read your mind."

When he felt Natsume's hard glare, Koko laughed nervously. "Haa-haa, I think it's time for us to look for Mikan-chan."

Surprisingly, the glare stopped.

"You know that only one person can approach her right now, right?" said Sumire.

As everyone looked at Natsume, Hotaru asked, "So… it's time for you to decide, Katou-san. Do you agree to help her or not?"

Prev Chapter 1—The Mute Girl Chapter 2—The Black Witch Chapter 3—The Prince of Japan Chapter 4—The Special Condition Chapter 5—The Decision Chapter 6—The Unexpected News Chapter 7—The Forbidden Family Chapter 8—The Ancient Memory Chapter 9—The Other One Chapter 10—The Price Chapter 11—The First Pact Chapter 12—The Pain Chapter 13—The Endless Love Next