My Candy: Chapter 1

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

Soft footsteps echoed through the room before a raven-haired girl with a pair of amethyst eyes quelled the crying alarm clock.
"You need to wake up now," she whispered to the person under the blanket. Grabbing a piece of candy from the bowl on the bed table, she slipped it inside the blanket.

After a few seconds the blanket was thrown away to reveal a beautiful brown-haired girl with a pair of hazel eyes. Blinking a few times, the girl turned to look at the raven-haired girl.

"Good morning, Hotaru," she greeted with a smile.

"Morning, Mikan," Hotaru replied plainly. "You need to hurry, or you'll be late."

Hotaru walked out of the room after that. Obviously, she only came to wake her best friend up.

...xXx...

With a cheerful smile, Mikan greeted the class, "Good morning, everyone!"

The class only smiled as some of them replied to her.

She walked towards her seat and smiled at the raven-haired boy who was still reading his manga. "Morning, Natsume."

"Hn" was his only answer.

Mikan sighed before smiling. Thanked to her sharp hearing, she heard Natsume reply to her with a very soft 'Morning.' She turned to look at the sky through the window and closed her eyes.

"It's going to rain," she whispered after she breathed in the fresh air.

No one heard this but Natsume since he sat beside her. He stopped reading for a while and glanced up at the clear blue sky.

I don't think so, he thought before reading his manga again.

To his dismay, her prediction was right. After a few minutes later rain was pouring down the entire Gakuen Alice, but it lasted for only two hours.

She smiled brightly as she plopped another piece of candy inside her mouth. It was her fifth piece of candy for the day. No one noticed that she ate her candy exactly one hour after another.

...xXx...

When homeroom ended, Mikan exclaimed, "Oh, no!"

The class looked at her quizzically, and while panicking, she muttered, "My candy."

She scanned the room to look for Hotaru, but she couldn't find her. Her face turned pale, and everyone quickly went to her side.

"Mikan-chan, are you alright?" Iinchou asked worriedly.

The rest of the class looked at her with worry, too. Even our fire caster was worried about her, and his worry could be seen very clearly through his crimson eyes.

Sweat ran down from her face as she started panting heavily like someone who had just finished a very long marathon. She shut her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the classroom. She didn't struggle because she knew it was Hotaru as she could smell her. Together, they ran to the infirmary. Once they were inside, Hotaru locked the door.

"Next time, you need to be more careful."

Mikan opened her eyes and revealed a pair of golden eyes instead of her originally hazel ones. Wiping away the sweat, she smiled at Hotaru. "I'm sorry, Hotaru."

Hotaru threw another piece of candy to her, and Mikan caught it easily and ate it immediately. She closed her eyes again for a few seconds. When she opened them, the golden eyes were hazel once again.

"I wouldn't have been able to hold it much longer if you hadn't come, Hotaru."

"Tomorrow night is the night of the full moon, so of course, you can't hold it longer than usual."

"Life is so cruel…" Mikan whined.

Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Don't try to act innocent in front of me."

"Meanie…" Mikan mumbled and then smiled. "It's time to go back; everyone must be worried about me."

"Don't forget; you only have five minutes to restrain it," Hotaru reminded as she opened the infirmary door to leave.

"Hai, hai," Mikan chirped happily before she went to the classroom to explain everything. She then looked around the classroom before asking, "Ruka-pyon, where's Natsume?"

"He just left the classroom right after Imai-san dragged you out. I think he went to the Sakura Tree," Ruka replied.

Mikan nodded with a smile. Of course I know where he is… I can hear his heartbeats from here…

As usual, our fire caster was reading his favourite manga under his Sakura tree.

Mikan sat beside him, and without looking at him, she greeted, "Natsume…"

"Hn," Natsume answered without looking at her. He was worried about her, but his pride wouldn't allow him to ask her what happened.

Quietly, she took out her candy as she smiled to herself and plopped it into her mouth.

He had the urge to ask why she loved candy so much.

On the other hand, Mikan was in her little world. She closed her eyes. I love his scent…

Closing his manga, he stared at her silently. She slowly opened her eyes as she looked up at the sky. He could have sworn that he saw her eye colour as golden instead of brown. Slapping his forehead mentally, he told himself, It was because of the sun, or it was just your imagination.

As he sighed softly, she turned to him immediately. "Are you alright, Natsume?"

"What are you talking about?"

She tilted her head. "Weird, huh? I heard you sigh just now."

"…" He opened his manga again. How could she hear that?

Shrugging, she stood up, ready to leave. "See you, Natsume!"

He decided to ignore her, but when she was five feet away, he whispered, "See you tomorrow, Mikan."

Unknown to him, Mikan heard him.

Smiling, she turned around and exclaimed, "See you tomorrow, Natsume!"

He looked up at her in disbelief. Don't tell me she heard me just now as well?

Chapter 1—The Transformation Chapter 2—The Golden Cat Chapter 3—The Truth Chapter 4—The Other Half Chapter 5—The Release Chapter 6—The Silver Cat Chapter 7—The Battle of Love Chapter 8—The Seal of Fate Chapter 9—The Curse Chapter 10—The Wolf Chapter 11—The Candy Next