DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gakuen Alice. This disclaimer goes for all the chapters.

--Got the idea while watching Lost season 1. I love Boone Carlyle and Shannon Rutherford together. Yay. :P

Elle Emina

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I just hope that you will see

You and me, we belong…

-We Belong, Toni Gonzaga

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CHAPTER ONE

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"Natsume!"

The man clad in black Armani business suit let out a low groan as he continued signing the documents on his table whilst ignoring the furious woman who suddenly barged inside his office.

Natsume Hyuuga, the Managing Director and the next-in-line Chief Executive Officer of Hyuuga Inc., didn't have to look up at the said woman to know that she was boiling mad at him. He knew sooner or later she would come and find him to rip his head off once she learned what he did again.

"How could you?! You told me before that you'll never do it again! You're despicable! You think you can get away from it again, huh?! Damn it, I'm talking to you so look at me!" The woman fumed.

Natsume sighed as he put his Parker pen down on the table and finally looked up away from the documents to the woman. For a brief second, he was in awe as his crimson eyes gazed over the auburn-haired beauty standing inside his office.

"Why did you do it, Natsume, why?!" She cried melodramatically.

"He's two-timing you, you idiot." He responded with his usual stoic expression on his face.

"I know that! I could've easily asked him to leave the other girl for me but I can't do that now! He ended everything between us this morning! He won't tell me his real reason but I know you were behind it. You paid him to leave me!"

He scowled as he listened to her rant. She already knew that her good-for-nothing boyfriend was cheating on her but she was not even mad at the guy? He seriously had the urge to wring her slender neck to put some senses in her. But he kept himself calm as the woman continued yelling at him.

"This is the third time you've done this to me, Natsume! Third time! How long will you keep doing this? I know you're just worried for my well-being but you've already crossed the line! You're taking your role as a big brother way too much!"

Natsume tried hard to keep his expression as emotionless as possible, but inside he was saddened at the thought that the woman he loved and desired the most saw him as a big brother and nothing more.

No, they were not blood-related. They were step-siblings. His father, the current CEO of Hyuuga Inc., married Mikan Sakura's mother when he was twelve and she was eight.

That time when his father, Izumi Hyuuga, told him that he was going to marry again and that the woman he fell in love with had a daughter from her first husband, Natsume was not exactly thrilled. But when his father finally introduced to him the lively eight-year old Mikan Sakura, he found himself hooked on her.

He became overprotective and sometimes even possessive of her as they started living together under one roof. At first, he thought it was normal for a stepbrother to feel that way towards her stepsister. He thought that what he felt towards her was nothing but brotherly love. But as they grow up together, he realized that his affection for her was nowhere near platonic. He became extremely jealous as Mikan started dating guys when she entered high school, but he tried to keep it to himself, not wanting to cause serious problems within his family.

Though, Natsume had to admit that he was relieved and pleased that Mikan wanted to keep her biological father's last name and had no plan on changing it to 'Hyuuga'. He was already ashamed of himself for falling in love with her. He felt as if he was betraying his family's trust on him as he continued to harbor his feelings towards his stepsister.

He had tried to solve his issues by getting involved with other women. He dated and bedded different women but they were of no effect to him. He even tried to commit himself in a serious relationship several times but they didn't work out. The other women who tried their best to be the most ideal girlfriend weren't able to gain his affection as much as Mikan did; and to think that Mikan didn't even have to try hard to please him. She just had to be herself and he was already head over heels for her. It already came to the point that Natsume had no more interest in dating other women and was already contented on watching over his stepsister.

But four years ago, when Mikan was seventeen, her mother Yuka died in a car accident. She was distraught and a couple of months later after that, she insisted to his father that she wanted to leave the country and continue her studies abroad. Natsume was against it but his father gave her his permission. Mikan then went to Paris and stayed there for almost a year, but when Natsume found out that she was badly neglecting her studies and did nothing but to party with her friends and change boyfriends, Natsume personally came to Paris and almost literally dragged her back to Japan with him.

Since then, she became more rebellious. She was always out partying at night then she started modeling for clothing lines and dated celebrities and models. Those relationships she had were barely serious. After a month of dating, she would break up with the guy and date another. No matter how much Natsume tried to prevent her from seeing other guys, she was just too stubborn. But when Natsume thinks that she was going crazier beyond normal over some guy, then that would be the time he would take action. He would have the guy investigated and if there was something he could have against him, Natsume would offer him money to leave Mikan alone. Natsume knew he was already crossing the line but in his defense, if that guy really loved his Mikan, he wouldn't accept the money no matter how big it was.

It was, however, a guilty pleasure for him to know that the guys Mikan dated were all not good enough in his standard. It gave him a reason to go against them and act protectively over his stepsister. Selfish as it may sound, but Natsume just wished that Mikan wouldn't meet a guy too perfect that even he cannot oppose; because then, he would no longer have a reason to take her away from another man.

Natsume watched as Mikan walked near his table, looking more impatient but her anger seemed to have alleviated a little. He blinked when she suddenly leaned closer and her hazel eyes met his crimson ones.

"Tell me, Natsume, when was the last time you had sex?"

Natsume felt his jaw dropped.

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Mikan almost laughed as she watched her stepbrother's shocked expression as her question sunk into his head. Natsume looked like he had choked something. He was looking at her with a scandalized expression on his handsome face.

She couldn't help letting out a giggle.

Natsume seemed to have noticed that she was making fun of him. He cleared his throat rather awkwardly then he averted his gaze away from her.

Her anger towards her stepbrother had eased up a little bit but she was getting annoyed on how indifferent he seemed to be. He just sat there emotionless on his leather chair behind his wide office table while she nagged nonstop at him. So she blurted out the words to see if he'd react and change that usual stoic expression of his into something different.

"That is a very unladylike question, Mikan." Natsume grunted.

Mikan just shrugged as she sat on one of the chairs beside the table.

"I think you're lacking in the love department, bro. You definitely need a sex life."

"My sex life is none of your business. Don't just go asking inappropriate questions like that. And aren't you supposed to be mad at me? If you're done with your rant, you can go and leave. I'm quite busy right now, if you didn't notice." He snapped at her.

"Your sex and love life will become my business if you keep on meddling with mine. I think your lack of romance is taking its toll on me. You have too much free time to meddle with my relationships."

"I'm just watching out for you." Her stepbrother defended.

"I know, and I appreciate that. But I'm already twenty-one. I can take care of myself, Natsume. You don't have to rescue me every time you deemed I'm in trouble."

Natsume scoffed, "You are always in trouble. Just last week I had to pick you up in Singapore when you had problems at the airport, and last Saturday you got in a bar fight with some random woman. Sure, Mikan, you can take care of yourself if 'taking care' to you means getting into jail."

"Hey! That was not my fault. That woman grabbed my hair first!"

"Whatever. But point is, you can't take care of yourself."

"No, the point is you always try to rescue me that was why I can't learn to take care of myself."

Natsume didn't say anything in return because they both knew she was right.

Mikan adored his stepbrother very much. As they grow up together, they became very close even though sometimes he became too protective of her. She appreciated it but she later realized that she became too dependent on Natsume and whenever she's in trouble, she let him be the one to solve it for her. She wanted it to change but she found it hard to stay away from him. It was like breaking a century-old habit for her.

When they were young, she had developed a crush on Natsume but Mikan knew it was wrong to like his stepbrother in a romantic way. He treated her like a real sister and it would be wrong for her to think of him as more than a brother, so she erased the thought off of her head immediately.

But when she went to Paris after her mom's death, it was Natsume whom she missed the most. She missed him terribly that she thought of going back to Japan just to see him again, but she stopped herself. She was never the studying type so Mikan partied with her friends and dated guys to keep herself occupied.

"It's dad's birthday tomorrow. Be sure to attend the party." Natsume then said, breaking the brief silence that transpired between them.

"Won't miss it." She replied as she finally stood up from her seat.

"Leaving now?" He looked up at her.

"Yeah. I gotta find myself a date tomorrow night at the party since my dear brother was generous enough to bribe my boyfriend with his wealth to break up with me." She answered sarcastically.

Mikan knew she was no longer mad at Natsume for what he had done. She couldn't even believe that she considered getting serious with Reo Mouri, her pop star ex-boyfriend. She was even ready to forgive him for two-timing. What the hell was she thinking? And if Reo was low enough to accept the money his stepbrother offered him, then he was not worth even a bit of her attention.

A frown formed on her face.

She just hated the fact that Natsume seemed to know everything better than she does.

-:-

Author's Note: I have a fetish for somewhat forbidden and scandalous love. Haha ;) But I NEVER like incest, so I guess step-sibling romance is the next best thing. \m/

The next update will depend on the number of reviews this chapter will get. I'm shameless like that. =.=

Constructive criticisms are welcome; flames, not so much.

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