Thank you koolasapixels, yuuri727, Leenstarz, funny sakura, iazuei, tinkerbellie, xXxNana-cHaNxXx, jeje-chan, yunochii, XXMikanXX, Arahi Sakura, Natsukii-chan, -kell-36-, aizuhime, ladalada, yamishun, xXCandyGirlXx, berry smoothie, wizardwitchgoddess, kradraven, gitsa lalala, -rhan-louise-, Yukiri-chan, chocobangbang, sarahpatrick, Drabane, .816, Creativewriter54, -Noob-Author-, natsumexmikan, skl gal anix, -Kate-DominiqueXalice- for reviewing Chapter 16!

I hope you'll enjoy the last chapter of this story. :)

EPILOGUE

Outside the gates of Alice Academy, a shadow approached slowly, almost blending with the darkness of the night.

Hotaru Imai rushed towards the main gates of the academy with her boyfriend fretfully.

"OPEN THE GATES!" Ruka Nogi yelled at the guard, "LET THEM IN!"

"Let who in?" The guard was confused.

"THEM!" Ruka pointed at the gates frantically.

The silhouette finally reached the main gates, and stood there rigidly.

"Natsume!" Ruka yelled, clutching the bars of the gates.

Where was Mikan?

His eyes widened as moonlight spilled onto the outline of Natsume Hyuuga, revealing his fine features. His pale face was full of cuts and bruises, and fresh blood spilled onto the floor from his shoulder, leaving a thin trail behind him.

And curled up in his arms was Mikan Sakura, her face as white as a sheet of paper.

"Mikan…" Hotaru gasped.

Then without warning, Natsume closed his eyes weakly and fell forward, collapsing onto the ground with a soft thud.

"NATSUME!"

The gates opened with a loud creak, as Ruka Nogi rushed towards his best friend and knelt beside him, ignoring the guard's hysterical protests.

"Natsume…"

A bead of cold sweat trickled down from Natsume's forehead as he winced in pain.

"Mikan…" He murmured feverishly.

Mikan.

Mikan Sakura opened her eyes slowly.

Where was she?

Her surroundings were pitch-black- She couldn't see a thing. She felt the temperature around her dropping rapidly, as her body started to shiver slightly.

She was alone in this unknown place, and fear rendered her mind blank. She could only utter a single word instinctively.

"Natsume…" She whispered.

Slowly, as if triggered by that single word, a silhouette flashed through her mind briefly. She blinked confusedly, and once her attention wavered, the shadow disappeared instantly.

Immediately, anxiety gripped her.

She was alone once again.

Suddenly, the floor under her feet gave way as her heart skipped a beat, and the next thing she knew, she was falling.

Mikan screamed soundlessly.

Fear was cold.

So cold that it penetrated the body, extracting all of its strength, leaving nothing but emptiness.

She was falling into a bottomless pit helplessly, as terror clutched her heart tightly. She was unable to breathe, she wanted to scream, but nothing would come out of her throat.

And as she continued to fall endlessly, tears left her eyes and glistened in the darkness before they disappeared out of sight.

"Natsume…" Mikan closed her eyes, as the raven-haired fire caster flashed into her mind. Her mind was becoming clearer and clearer, and she began to remember what happened. Memories flashed through her mind quickly, most scenes including her beloved Natsume Hyuuga.

She felt unbelievably calm when she thought of him.

Am I dying now?

She knew the answer deep down in her heart.

And she finally understood what was happening.

She could feel it now- The nightmare was going to end soon.

But as Mikan was ready to let herself plunge into oblivion, a strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist tightly, preventing her from closing her eyes.

She widened her hazel orbs and gasped, coming face to face with Natsume Hyuuga. Her heart raced once more, she'd never felt so ecstatic before.

"Baka," He smirked, hugging her securely, giving her body familiar warmth, "Don't think you can leave that easily."

"Natsume… I have to go." Mikan smiled weakly, as Natsume stared at her soberly.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm dying, Natsume-"

Natsume touched her lips lightly with his slender fingers- A gesture for her to stop. His grip around her waist tightened, as if he'd never let go no matter what.

"I won't let you." He whispered, pressing his lips against hers and sealing her mouth with a kiss.

Mikan felt dizzy as waves of nausea hit her. Her vision of Natsume was blurring, and the only thing she could feel was the warmth of his lips and body.

As they continued to fall, she drifted into unconsciousness, his last words echoing in her mind relentlessly.

I won't let you.

She opened her eyes once more, finding herself inches apart from Natsume's face. His eyes were closed, it was apparent that he hadn't noticed her waking up. His lips rested on hers gently, unmoving.

She decided to kiss him back.

Slowly, her arms found their way to Natsume's neck and draped themselves around it. As anticipated, Natsume's magnificent orbs widened, locking her gaze.

"Mikan…" He whispered, pulling away slightly.

"Trying to wake me up with a kiss, Natsume?" said Mikan jokingly, "I'm not Sleeping Beauty."

Natsume continued to stare at her intensely, causing her to shift around uncomfortably.

"Natsume-"

She was cut off as he drew her into his warm embrace, hugging her as tightly as he could.

"It's warm," He murmured, "You're… alive."

Mikan buried her head into his shoulders, hugging him back closely. "Leaving you would be the last thing I'd do."

She was sure of one thing.

This was slightly different from the ending of that fairytale.

She did not wake up because of that kiss.

"Even if you did…" Natsume spoke softly, "I wouldn't let you."

I won't let you.

She woke up because of him.

Natsume Hyuuga.

"A date?" Hotaru Imai repeated monotonously, as Ruka Nogi stared at her in horror, immediately scrutinizing his surroundings to make sure no one heard.

"Shhh!" He hushed her loudly, causing everyone to look up and stare at him in surprise.

Hotaru Imai raised her eyebrows amusedly.

"Yes… Hotaru," Ruka coughed sheepishly, lowering his voice, "A date."

"I don't see why you have to be so secretive about it."

"It's called pride, woman!" Ruka almost blurted out. But eyeing the Baka Cannon in his girlfriend's hands, he chose not to say anything rash.

He sighed in defeat.

"Will you, or will you not go on a date with me today, Miss Hotaru Imai?" Ruka Nogi spoke slightly louder, successfully drawing everyone's attention. He winced.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that." Hotaru Imai suppressed a laugh as she watched Ruka's face turn green.

Ruka inhaled sharply, and bid his pride farewell.

"WILL YOU, OR WILL YOU NOT… GOONADATEWITHMETODAY!" Ruka yelled vociferously as the last sentence tumbled out as gibberish.

Everyone gasped loudly. They now fixed their gazes onto the couple, waiting to see what would happen next.

Unfortunately, before Hotaru could answer, someone tapped Ruka's from the back sharply.

Ruka turned around slowly, somehow dreading what awaited him from behind.

"In case you haven't noticed, Mr. Nogi," The woman flashed a sweet smile at him, causing him to shudder slightly. "This…"

She paused dramatically for a moment.

"… IS A LIBRARY!"

"…"

Outside the building, an eagle squawked as a flock of pigeons flew away, flapping their wings noisily.

A few minutes later, Ruka Nogi emerged outside the library, grasping Hotaru Imai's hand as he muttered colorful curses directed to a certain librarian.

Hotaru smiled inwardly.

There was no where else to go since they'd been chased out of the library.

Central Town would be a perfect dating spot.

"Natsume Hyuuga!" A brunette folded her arms crossly, pouting at the male sitting beside her.

"Polka Dots," The aforementioned shot back, proceeding to read the manga in his hands.

"Say it!" Mikan Sakura placed both hands on his neck, threatening to strangle him.

"Say what!" Natsume Hyuuga demanded irritably.

"Say… What you said in the warehouse," Mikan lowered her voice, her grip around Natsume's neck loosening.

Natsume smirked.

He gazed at her so intensely, willing her to look into his magnificent orbs.

Gradually, he mouthed three words carefully to her.

I.

Love.

You.

The eyes that were about to shut suddenly fluttered open and widened. Her vision was blurring, and the energy was being sapped out of her body slowly.

Natsume knelt down quickly, enveloping her gently in his arms. He lowered his head, kissing her forehead first, and then proceeded to claim her lips.

Mikan closed her eyes, droplets of clear liquid rolling down her cheeks. She could feel Natsume's lips trembling, the warmth of his body.

Pressing his lips onto hers, Natsume murmured so softly that only Mikan could hear.

"Mikan…"

Mikan closed her eyes little by little.

Natsume…

"Mikan..."

"You mean 'Mikan'…?" said Natsume teasingly, enjoying the aggravated look on her face.

"No, not that!" Mikan muttered peevishly, "Baka Natsume."

"Mikan," Natsume murmured.

As Mikan turned around unsuspectingly, Natsume leaned forward swiftly, and caught her boldly on the lips.

Mikan, being a klutz, almost fell of the Sakura tree branch due to the sudden contact. Natsume caught her and gripped her on the waist, but it was too late.

The next minute, they were falling.

And as they landed hard onto the ground, their lips never broke contact. Natsume lay on the grass breathing heavily, but refused to let go of Mikan Sakura, who was perfectly positioned on top of him.

Mikan pulled away, slightly shocked.

"Ow," she breathed, "Are you alright, Natsume?"

Natsume didn't answer.

Instead, he pushed her head towards his shoulder, enfolding her into his arms.

"I love you."

At this moment, Mikan had never prayed so hard in her life.

Hold me tight, and never let go...

The end.

I would like to thank my

Friends:

Yukiri-chan

-KateDominiqueXalice-

Arahi Sakura

Aminatsu032

Serina hikari

Chocobangbang

Skl gal anix

-rhan-lousie-

-Noob-Author-

gitsa lalala

drabane (my evil sister :p)

Please PM me if I missed out any names! I swear I'll replace the whole chapter with your name inside! TT

Special Thanks to:

Arahi Sakura: You told me that you were writing your longest review ever when you reviewed my first chapter! I was so motivated then! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU:D

-KateDominiqueXalice-: My first fanfiction friend! ARIGATOU. :)

Yukiri-chan: Thank you for writing me such long reviews everytime. See you in school! xD

natsumeNmikan: Thank you so much for creating an account just to write me a review. I was truly touched :D Another thing, I'm sorry Yui, who had the alice of your dreams, turned out to be the antagonist of this story. Still, I hope you enjoyed the NxM and RxH scenes.

May520: Thank you for complimenting the NxM scenes so many times. :D

All of my fanfiction friends: Thank you so much for supporting me and this story!

All of my readers and reviewers: I don't know how to express my gratitude to all of you who went through the trouble and took time to read and review this story! Hontou ni arigatou. :) Thank you so much, I really appreciate your precious reviews. Those who cried, smiled, and laughed after reading this story, I'm really glad that you enjoyed at least one of the chapters.

Once again, THANK YOU EVERYONE. :)

NOTE: Should I write a sequel? o.o

Edit: Yes, there is a sequel! :) Ongoing, though. Thank you for reading up till this very line and I hope you enjoy this too:

The Stray Cat In The Alley

www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/3684082/1/The_Stray_Cat_in_the_Alley