Title: Failed To Keep A Promise
Author: Etsuko O. Daikama

Rating: T (it isn't rated this for nothing)
Category: Romance
Pairing(s): NxM, mainly

Disclaimer: Even when my days grow cold or when my days grow old, even if I threaten Tachibana with my malice, I will still not own Gakuen Alice.
Summary: Mikan made a promise that she'll keep her lips pure for her future husband. Did she fail to keep it? ONE-SHOT, AU NxM

Notes: May contain OOCness. Beware of a scene(s) that isn't meant for small children.

At the Park; Ten Years Ago

Mikan was happily swinging on the chained swing-set. Her hair was swaying with the wind as she flew up and flew back down, thus flying up again. Her legs kicked up when she was going upwards and legs kicked backwards, to bend until her feet were under the rubber-padded seat when she was going downwards.

A rejoicing cry emit from Mikan's departed lips and she looked around the park because she was so high in the air. There weren't many people there; she was probably the only one there with her mother that was reading a book called, "Dead Laughter." Mikan was pretty curious about the book, but her mother would always tell her that the book wasn't meant for little kids.

Did that mean it was sexual book or what?

But one day, Mikan did hear her mother talking about it with some of her friends. They were practically crying over it like it was some Spanish soap opera. A few casted their opinions by saying it was so dramatic and so sad that one of the main characters had to die.

Maybe it was too sad for Mikan's taste or too graphically written when it came to the leading character's death. Who really knows? It was just a book that Mikan's mother read and didn't want Mikan to read.

Soon enough, when Mikan was scanning the park, she saw a boy hanging from a high tree branch that was quite a walk away. She saw the boy's fingers hanging very loosely around the bark and it started to slip from the tree branch. The boy lost grasp and fell to the ground, knees first.

From what Mikan can see, she saw blood on his knees when the boy planted his bottom on the ground. The little boy inspected the scrapes on his knees and gave it a shrug as he leaned his back against the tree.

Unconsciously, Mikan jumped from the swing-set and ran over to her mother, begging for some band-aids. "Did you get hurt?" the mother asked as she started looking through her big, brown bag. She pulled out a couple of band-aids, only for them to get snatched away by Mikan's hand.

"Thanks, mom!" Mikan yelled and started running to the direction of the young boy who was sitting beside a tree.

While Mikan's mother sat there, dumbstruck. She had no idea where her child was going, but asking for the band-aids and such, the reason must be because Mikan saw someone hurt and decided to come to their aid--even if they weren't expecting it.

The boy was coming into Mikan's view when she spotted the raven haired boy, sleeping against the tree. His knees were still bleeding from the jump, yet he paid no mind to it whatsoever. His hands were tucked behind his comfortably and his breath was perfectly steady. Good.

His ears perked up when he heard footsteps coming his way; did his family come look for him after he runaway? They can't be--they were gone. That's what he thought when he saw nobody around his burning house. He thought they died in the fire.

One of his eys opened slowly to see a girl on her knees with a bright smile on her face, looking like she was waiting for him to wake up. The boy opened both of his eyes and Mikan saw the unusual color of deep red.

"What do you want?" the boy asked out straightly.

Mikan pointed to his knees and he looked down to look at them, at the corner of his eye he saw a couple of band-aids in Mikan's hands. "So?" he asked so bluntly with a quirk of his brow.

"Let me put a band-aid on it," Mikan said and started ripping the little paper package that covered band-aid. She pulled the band-aid out and got rid of the plastic paper, then placing the band-aid on the boy's knee. He actually let her do it.

Mikan then reached for another one and said. "I'm Mikan Sakura." She grabbed the small package and started the ripping the paper off. "What's your name?" She took the plastic paper off and placed the band-aid on his other knee.

"Why should I tell my name to a stranger?" Natsume asked.

Mikan pouted and replied, "I told you mine. It's only fair if you told me yours."

Natsume blinked a couple of times and decided to say it, "Fine. Natsume Hyuuga."

Mikan reached for Natsume's left arm and took his hand in both of hers. "I'm glad I met you Natsume-kun," Mikan said with a smile. "I hope we can be friends."

Throwing a quick 'feh,' Natsume threw his hand out of hers and said, "Who would want to be friends with you?"

"You don't have to be mean," Mikan said with a small pout on her childish face and crossed her arms against her chest. "If you didn't want to be friends, you can just say so."

"I don't want to be friends," Natsume said bluntly after hearing her last statement. Mikan pushed herself closer to Natsume and grasped onto his shirt. She asked loudly, "Why?!" Natsume narrowed his eyes and pushed her away.

"Because--" he stopped his statement and saw something he never expected to see. "Nice panties, polka-dots."

"Y-You pervert!" Mikan screamed and sat down on her knees while pointing an accusing finger at Natsume.

Natsume shrugged and heard someone yelling, "Mikan! Where are you?" Natsume quickly looked around to see if anyone was around that was beside Mikan. He saw a figure moving closer and closer to them; he assumed that must be the girl's mother.

When Mikan's mother saw Mikan coming into sight, she quickened her pace. That girl better be ready for some hard-core scolding and lecturing. Mikan's mother slid on her knees and grabbed Mikan into a hug when she finally got to the little girl.

"Mikan!" the mother yelled. "Don't you ever leave me again, do you hear me?!"

Loud and clear.

"Why did you run off?!" the older woman continued to yell. "It was bad enough to be searching for my only child. I didn't want to lose you!"

Mikan then pointed to Natsume and looked at her mother's eyes. "I saw Natsume-kun get hurt, so I wanted to come to his aid," Mikan said. "I'm sorry that I made you worry." With those big, Mikan-puppy eyes, Yuka--Mikan's mother--just had to forgive her daughter. Those eyes; she must have inherited them from her father.

Yuka looked at the young boy who was watching them intently and she asked, "Where's your family?"

"Dead," Natsume answered with no emotion on his face. That was really a shocker to Yuka.

Yuka thought for a bit and decided on an idea that happened to pop in that brain of hers. "Why don't you live with my daughter and I?" she asked tenderly. "I bet you don't have a home and you must be starving by now."

This woman cannot be serious. Natsume had no problem with living in a home or getting free food; the problem was the girl. He already didn't like her.

By the looks of it, Mikan was more surprised than Natsume. Her eyes were completely wide like she heard that one of her relatives died from a horrible disease and mouth hung wide open to actually fit a perfect fist in there. She was still as a dead being on the ground.

"So let's move along!" Yuka cheered and started walking with Natsume by her side. Mikan remained at her place; still soaking the information in.

Yuka stopped and looked back to see her daughter standing completely still. "C'mon Mikan!" she yelled. "Let's go home!" That woke Mikan up as the young girl started to jog to catch up with the other two.

Present; Home

Between the ten years, Natsume and Mikan have gotten along pretty decently. Mikan also found out that Natsume grew fond of the young girl and she knew one day he'll snap. He was underage drinking because some of his friends introduced him to it and he got a bit addicted to it; just not the hangover he was always given the next morning.

When Natsume would come home from a party, he would always find Mikan and tackle her to the ground, giving her a chance to smell his bad odor. He always reeked with alcohol and it was really a strong odor on him. Mikan always got curious why her mother has yet to see that he was underage drinking--he was doing something illegal. But maybe because Yuka was either already asleep or too busy working in her room, with every hint of frustration roaming in her body.

Mikan was glad that when Natsume tackle her, he would get knocked out. He wasn't able to do anything to her, just fall soundly asleep on her. He couldn't kiss her, couldn't take away her virginity or anything. He was just stuck with sleeping on her.

That was pretty tough for Mikan also, because he was a bit heavy for her weak arms. She had to try her best to shove him off her and drag him to his bedroom. Sometimes, he would unconsciously say things. Maybe today you will see what things he will say.

But as they say, drunk men only speak the truth.

Tonight, Natsume was at a party with some of his friends, while Mikan was forced to do an earth science project that both of them were supposed to do. Mikan had tried to reason to him that they should both work on it--considering the grades she gets in earth science...

Yet, Natsume didn't care if he failed one grade. He didn't even do his tests at school and the teachers never cared if he did or not; he still got a good grade. They might give them a good grade since Natsume is in it. And whatever Natsume wants, Natsume gets, Mikan thought bitterly as she stuck out her tongue.

She already chewed her pencil to pieces because of so much frustration, she had to get a new one. Their project was supposed to be about the solar system and yet Mikan can be so clueless about it. She threw her pencil across the room, making it snap in to two pieces.

Mikan stood up from lying on the ground and placed two hands on her curved hips. One of her eyebrows started to twitch and her hands kept tightening on her skin, making a small pinch that went unnoticed by Mikan. "I've had enough," Mikan said. "I have yet to eat because I was working on this... THIS STUPID THING!!" Mikan rubbed her temples with her index finger and thumb, trying to soothe down the anger. Too bad it was futile.

Her stomach started growling and her anger ceased as she placed both of her arms over her stomach and a small drool was dripping from the corner of her mouth. "So hungry..." Mikan drawled as she slowly walked out of her room and made way to the kitchen that was quiet. It was seven thirty-nine in the evening and no one dared came near the kitchen, except Mikan.

She walked all over the kitchen to find something decent to munch on. She went through cupboards, the refrigerator, the pantry and found a few decent things to munch on. She grabbed a green apple and brought it to her lips; her teeth sinking into the juicy fruit as she took a bit of it. She munched on it and started walking out of the kitchen, grabbing a banana on the way.

Mom has been working so hard these days that she can't make dinner anymore,Mikan thought as she passed by her mother's bedroom door. She continued to walk down the hallways and found her open door. I should give her something to show my appreciation and how I honored I am to be her daughter. Mikan went inside her and closed the door behind her, sitting on the ground where her schoolwork was scattered at.

Mikan continued to bit into her apple and looked through the pages of her earth science book, occasionally jotting some notes down on line paper with a new pencil she had to get. Soon enough, her apple reached to its core and she tossed it in her trash bin. But she missed so she had to get up and placed it in there.

The door slammed open and Mikan looked over to see who it was, before she could she was tackled. She knew who this was already. Mikan smelt the odor and a head pressed against her shoulder. A steady breeze from a breath blew against her shoulder blade.

Mikan tried prying the boy off with her weak arms but only could shove him off. Natsume fell to the side of her, still unconscious. Mikan got up from the ground and stood to her feet; she bent down to grab Natsume's arms and tried her hardest to pick him up. She did but then when his weight became too unbearable for her, she fell backwards onto the ground again.

Here we go again...

"I never knew how sexy you were," Natsume said unconsciously, "Mikan Sakura."

Mikan blushed at the comment and pushed Natsume to the side of her again. "What was that stupid promise you made again?" Natsume questioned with his eyes still closed. "Keep your lips pure for your future husband?"

"Yes, and it's not a stupid promise," Mikan whispered into his ear. "I thought it was a smart idea to do."

Natsume suddenly smirked and latched onto Mikan's arm. He started to nuzzle her neck while Mikan tried to push him off. This is a lot different compared to the other nights; he never went far enough to reach out his hand and grab her arm.

Natsume stopped nuzzling her neck and placed his mouth so close to Mikan's ear that his lips were brushing against her skin. "Don't drive me crazy," he whispered huskily into her ear. He started biting her earlobe and licked it gently, tickling Mikan's senses.

Mikan shoved the sixteen years old boy off and whispered, "Who said I was trying to make you?" Mikan got onto her knees and then Natsume's arms attacked her again by moving them around her body, caging her in his embrace.

"You won't like the results when you do," Natsume calmly stated into her ear. Mikan knew that Natsume wasn't asleep; he was very much awake. He thought if he was asleep, that would give him some excuse as to why he was acting weird--but he was still drunk.

Natsume placed his face against her chest and Mikan was too shocked for words. "You're a B-Cup," Natsume said and cracked open a lazy eye. "I'm impressed with your slow growth." He pushed his weight onto her, causing them fall onto the ground with Natsume on top of the girl.

"G-Get off," Mikan said and placed her hands on his chest to push him off. Natsume swiftly grabbed onto her hands and placed them over her head. Both of his crimson red eyes were open and they were just staring at Mikan like she was a prized toy or something. He never took his eyes off her; she was his main focus whether she liked it or not. Mostly not.

Natsume placed his forehead against hers and said, "I'm not getting off until you kiss me." His lips were brushing the skin that was between her wide eyes. She was beyond shocked; she knew she heard a phrase like that before that emitted from Natsume's lips but that was when he wasn't drunk.

"Y-You're not drunk," Mikan paused to gulp a lump saliva in her throat, "are you?" She heard a rare, light chuckle from Natsume's lips. Natsume's tongue licked his lips and some of his tongue got to lick some skin that belonged to Mikan. The girl's breath went unsteady when she saw Natsume's mouth getting closer to her lips.

Swiftly, Mikan shoved him off her and yelled, "No!" Oh, so now she can throw him off her...

Natsume was sitting on the ground and growled when he found out that he was no longer on top of Mikan. Mikan was getting up shakily; she stared at Natsume with her brown eyes wide. She knew she angered Natsume. The boy was making it obvious that he was already upset.

Mikan was on her two feet and slowly backed away when she saw Natsume crawling over to her with this unusual glint in his eyes. When Natsume found his distance close enough to Mikan, he quickly circled his arms around her legs, making her fall backwards on the ground with her eyes completely shut, ready to feel the pain.

"Ow..." Mikan moaned and started rubbing the back of her head where the pain was at. She opened one of her eyes and saw Natsume on top of her, again.

Natsume was slowly moving his head closer to girl's lips and whispered, "You're mine now." His lips were just inches away from the girl's slightly open mouth. She closed her eys, praying that this was all a dream and she'll wake up anytime soon.

Yet his mouth kepting inching closer and closer to the girl. Mikan's breath was caught in her throat as she tried her hardest to breath once again. When Natsume felt that he was drastically close to Mikan's lips, he stopped. He whispered something Mikan never expected, "I knew it."

Mikan felt like her body just stopped but her eyes were cracked wide open. Natsume was still on top of her but wasn't as close as before. "You would've failed to keep that stupid promise of yours," Natsume said and got off her to sit beside her. "Some guy would try to kiss you and you wouldn't do anything. You may try to pry him off at first but then you'll give up in the end."

It only took a few seconds to realize what Natsume was saying to Mikan for her to fully comprehend what was going on. "So you weren't drunk this whole time?!" Mikan yelled and pointed her index finger, accusingly at Natsume. She took a few pushes back when she was sitting up.

Natsume quirked a brow and asked, "Do you want me to be?"

It took a few moments for Mikan to calculate the message, the answer and the possibilities. Still, it's illegal. She could have blurt out a quick 'no' but she had to take her precious time. After reasoning through her small mind, she finally gave out the answer, "No."

"Took you long enough," Natsume said immediately after hearing her answer. "And what may be the reasons?" A hint of amusement was seen in his crimson eyes and clicked his tongue in impatience. He started to drum his fingers on the floor when Mikan didn't say anything.

Mikan was only staring at Natsume when a tint of cherry red was graced aligned on her originally peach-colored cheeks; she tried her hardest to speak but her strawberry-flavored-glossy lips were just stuck together. She hardened her stare and slightly clenched her fist to try make her mouth open. But it seems, her mouth was against her today. If Natsume did kiss her, who knows what would've happened!

"Well?" Natsume questioned after two minutes of awkward silence. The silence was so thick that it could suffocate you, making you beg for at least a sip of the clean air and it continued to thicken when Mikan still tried to open her mouth.

It was finally irritating Natsume when she made no word emit from her mouth. His stare then slowly made its way to look at her strawberry-flavored-gloss lips. It just look so juicy to Natsume and his mouth was practically watering; but he held the urge. "I will kiss you if you don't answer me," Natsume stated so bluntly and started crawling towards Mikan who made no movement at all.

Natsume was slowly slithering his arms around Mikan and yet she had said a word. "It's like you want me to kiss you," Natsume teased. Mikan's eyebrows grew into a perfect 'V' and she shoved Natsume off her.

"The reasons are none of your business, you jerk!!" Mikan yelled and stuck out her tongue. She placed her index finger on her face, near her eye and pulled the skin down. "Bleh!" Natsume rolled his eyes at Mikan's childish behavior; it has yet to change.

Natsume looked at the line paper that were scattered across the room and couple of open books that were talking about the solar system. He picked a paper up and scanned the page; it was blank. Natsume quirked a brow and turned to look at Mikan. "For three hours you spent in here, you did absolutely nothing," Natsume stated and threw the blank, line paper to the side. "I was aware that you were dumb, but not this dumb."

Mikan hopped to her feet with her arms almost connected to her curved sides. "Well, you were my partner for this stupid project but you left to go to some stupid party!" Mikan bellowed. "I can't do this alone, you know!"

"That's the most obvious thing," Natsume retorted. Natsume got up to his two feet and walked to the door. "I'm leaving." He twisted the shiny doorknob and opened the door, walking out of the girl's room.

When Mikan saw Natsume's retreating figure leave, she recalled something. "Hey! You're still my partner for this project!" Mikan yelled and ran into the hallway to try to catch him.

Her promise was kept safe and her lips were still pure. Not for long...a thought passed some one's mind but was never said aloud. Mikan could only pray that she'll keep that promise.

Six Years Later

Natsume and Mikan have gone their separate ways after they finished college. Mikan finished two years while Natsume finished the whole set; he got a bit of envy from the young brunette in which he didn't mind. Only one didn't go their separate way completely; they still watched the person go into a famous diner and be a waitress there through their glass window.

Who may it be? Well, isn't it obvious young one?

It was Spring and flowers were starting to bloom while trees were slowly growing their leaves again. Everyone had their normal routines going; get ready, do work and then come back home, doing unnecessary things. But from yesterday, Natsume decided to change the old routine, in his own personal way that screams to be on the newspaper.

The male who is now twenty-two years of age was tying his solid black tie around his neck. He didn't fully tie it where it could choke his neck, instead he had some space that it was hanging around his neck, loosely. He was staring out his glass window, watching the diner and checking the people around it.

Something caught his eye on the sidewalk that was running and occasionally tripping along their way. The person who was failing at walking gracefully was trying to tie their hair into a neat ponytail but ended up having it a bit messier than they wanted. Soon enough, that person's ribbon broke into two pieces while she was trying to tie her tight. She looked up to the sky and screamed in terror.

Natsume gave out a soft chuckle and smirked while seeing this woman acting so dramatic. This woman wasn't any ordinary woman--this woman was special. Out there who was stomping her way into the famous diner was none other than, Mikan Sakura. The one who sneaked under Natsume's skin and crawled their way into his dark heart and made themselves comfortable there.

Before throwing his suit on, he patted his pocket to make sure it was still there. When he felt the item through the dark-colored fabric, he threw his suit on and started making his way to the door.

Today was going to be a special day. And if anyone gets in the way, he will surely kill them. Ripping them from limb-by-limb, tearing the skin off slowly and letting the blood ooze out--and you get the point. He will kill them and that's that.

Natsume entered the apartments' elevator and pushed button that had the word 'LOBBY' on it. The button glowed a yellowish color and elevator started moving downwards. In Natsume's pocket, a phone started ring and the male quickly picked up without checking who the caller was.

"Hello?" he questioned when the phone was pressed against his right ear.

"Hey Natsume, it's Mochu," the person on the other line said. "Remember that ring you bought four years ago?"

The elevator reached the lobby and doors opened automatically, letting Natsume walk out of the small room. "Yeah, what about it?" Natsume questioned and continued to walk towards the exit of apartment building. Which I may add, looks unbelievably fancy.

"Kokoro used the ring to propose to Shouda," Mochu said. "And then Shouda found out the ring was for Sakura by looking at the description that was carved inside and so she threw it out... somewhere."

Mochu heard Natsume sigh through the line. Natsume rubbed his temples with his thumb and index finger. He replied, "It's too late about that ring. I got a new one so it really doesn't matter."

"You really don't mind?"

"No, I absolutely don't."

"OK, then see ya."

"Later."

Natsume hung up and took the phone away from his ear, then placing it in his pocket once again. Through this whole week he must make sure that he has his cell phone with him at all times. Why? Because Hotaru told him to so she could give him the information about his work.

Tsubasa and Natsume were co-workers, much to Natsume's displeasure. And last week, they made a bet in who could do a better job at being Hotaru's secretary. Tsubasa always complained to Natsume about being Hotaru's secretary because it was like living in hell and so Natsume told him that being Hotaru's secretary would be an easy job. And that's how the bet was made.

If Tsubasa wins, he gets to take pictures of Natsume and sell them to his hormonal-crazed fangirls and get enough money to buy his girlfriend, Misaki, an engagement ring. He's really desperate. If Natsume won, he gets to have Tsubasa as his secretary while also being Hotaru's secretary.

According to the Natsume dictionary, secretary means slave. That's double hell for Tsubasa.

Natsume's phone started ringing again and he took it out of his pocket again, placing it near his ear. "Natsume Hyuuga," he stated and waited for the caller to respond.

"Hyuuga, go buy me breakfast from that diner that's down your street," a stoic voice said through the line. "They do to-go. Talk to Mikan and say to give me the 'Hotaru Special.'"

"Fine," he said and walked down to the diner that was across his home. When he walked through the street, he went up to the door and peeked through the glass window. Mikan was asking a midnight-blue haired female for something.

Natsume pulled open the door and the bell that was hanging above the door, rang. He walked inside and already heard Mikan worrying.

"Nonoko, do you have an extra hair piece?" Mikan asked. "I broke mine into two on my way." Mikan pulled out a ribbon that was torn and left it lying in her palm. She put her palm closer to Nonoko's face for her to examine the piece. But the young girl shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Mikan-chan," Nonoko apologized. "But I didn't bring an extra one in. Try asking Misaki-senpai."

Mikan quickly circled her arms around Nonoko's figure and hugged her. "Thank you, Nonoko!" Mikan exclaimed and ran to the back of the diner.

Nonoko scanned the diner to see it packed with customers and one was waiting by the door. He was slouching a bit with his hands tucked in his pockets. Nonoko walked up to him and asked, "How may I help you, sir?"

"I'm here to see Sakura," he said without giving the woman a glance.

It became silent between the two and Nonoko added two quick blinks. "Is that you, Natsume-kun?" Nonoko asked. "You've grown up so much! I'll get Mikan-chan in a flash!" The long-haired girl ran into the kitchen to find the girl that Natsume was looking for.

Natsume was standing there, scanning the entire diner to see it packed with hungry customers. It was so noisy that Natsume couldn't himself think! There was few noises coming from the kitchen that sounded like pots and pans colliding with the ground. Next, there was a broken glass sound.

"Gah!" a voice yelled. "Sakura, next time try not to be so clumsy!"

"I'm not trying to!" a voice retorted. "It's just these things were in the way!"

A sigh came from a voice in the kitchen and it spoke, "Yeah, and your IQ is higher than two hundred."

One of the pots went flying across the kitchen, an attempt to hit some one in the head but failed miserably. Another pot went flying and then a pan and then a voice was thrown in there, "Quit moving!"

"Why?" a voice asked. "So you can hit me in the head?"

"Yes!!"

Natsume groaned in irritation and began to rub his temples. He wasn't having it so good--especially when his cell phone started ringing. Natsume took his cell phone out of his pocket and placed it near his ear. Before he could say anything, a voice beat him to it, "Where are you, Hyuuga? It doesn't take Andou this long for him to bring in my breakfast."

"Just wait for your damn breakfast, Imai," Natsume said into the line. "They're having a few difficulties here."

"Difficulties or not," Hotaru spat. "You have until nine to bring in my food. If you don't, you're fired."

"Ooh," Natsume mocked. "I feel so threatened."

"You should be." Hotaru hung up before any other word could be said. Natsume pocketed his cell phone once again and waited for Mikan to come out of the kitchen. He pulled his left sleeve up a little bit with his right hand and checked the time that was on his watch: Eight thirty-two in the morning.

Natsume started tapping his black, designer shoes against the diner's waxed, tiled floor. Soon, out came from the kitchen was Mikan, tying her hair into a ponytail with a navy blue hair band. She walked over to the customer after she finished her hair and asked with a bright smile, "How may I help you, sir?"

"You can help me by giving me the 'Hotaru Special,'" Natsume said with a tone of impatience.

Mikan stared at the customer like he grew two heads. The only person who came here to asked for the Hotaru Special was Tsubasa Andou. But this wasn't him and it confused the young brunette. Mikan stared at the customer intently and soon enough, she recognized his face. "Natsume...?"

Natsume snorted and said, "No kidding. Now give me the damn food, I don't have all day."

A pout was on Mikan's lips and she replied, "Geez, Natsume, you're still rude as ever." She turned her back on him and went to the kitchen to give a warning to the cooks. She yelled over the voices inside the kitchen, "One Hotaru Special and make it snappy!"

Natsume smirked because he heard the last three words in Mikan's statement. So she did comprehend what he was saying; at least she was helping. After a few minutes of waiting and people coming in and out, the Hotaru Special had been delivered to Natsume.

Mikan was standing in front of him with a bright smile and said, "Tell Hotaru for me, I love you!"

Natsume's crimson eyes widened to hear her; apparently, he only caught the three words that were at the end of her sentence. He left as if he heard nothing, but when he was out of the diner, he smirked.

Today was a special day.

Entering and exiting the elevator, Natsume strutted to Hotaru's office that had to be on top of the building and in the corner of the building. Of course, her office contained a large portion of the thirty-ninth floor but she had a lot of other floors that belonged to her and only her.

Natsume was passing by Tsubasa who was holding up a watch that indicated that it was almost nine o'clock. Natsume didn't even glance at Tsubasa and passed by him to enter into Hotaru's office without even knocking.

He threw Hotaru's breakfast onto her desk and Hotaru looked at it. She checked the wall clock that was hanging near her door and said, "Eight fifty-nine, you got lucky."

"What else do you want me to do, you frostbite?" Natsume asked with a lousy insult that Hotaru brushed off.

Hotaru went through a few things on her computer, clicking away with her mouse and occasionally typing a few things on her keyboard. "You can tell your dear friend to hurry up and propose to me," Hotaru said without turning her head from the computer. Natsume rose a brow. "I found a ring that was for me in his room. I read the description in the ring; it was really cheesy."

"Why were you in his room?" Natsume asked with one of his brows still up.

Hotaru stopped whatever she was doing and replied, "That's my business, not yours. Now leave."

Natsume stalked out the office and Tsubasa was waiting outside, patiently. "Did you get fired?" he asked.

"No," Natsume replied and walked--leaving Tsubasa to sulk--to his own personal office that has been moved up to the current floor he is on. Ruka is going to have a little surprising call from the Hyuuga concerning Hotaru.

Natsume brought out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed his best friend's number. He placed his cell phone by his ear and waited for his dear friend to pick up. Surprisingly, it was almost immediate that Ruka picked.

"Ruka Nogi," Ruka said through the line

"Ruka, your girlfriend is wondering when you're going to propose to her," Natsume said. "When were you planning to do so?"

"..."From the silence from the other line, it seemed that Ruka was shocked. So much for keeping the proposing thing a surprise to Hotaru; and he worked so hard on the plan. "H-How did she find out?"

"She saw it in your room," Natsume answered. "Don't ask me why she was in there."

"How did she know it was for her?"

"Do you want her to think it wasn't for her?" Natsume quirked a brow and started drumming his fingers against his oak-wood desk.

It was silent on the line as Ruka started to think. Everything seemed to be against him. "Anyway, she found out that the ring was for her by reading the description inside the ring," Natsume said. "Why don't you place that ring inside your drawers?"

"And you know this because of all your proposals to women?" Ruka asked smartly and rose a brow.

"Tch, like I would do that," Natsume answered. "I have high standards."

"Right,"Ruka drawled. "Her first name mustbe Mikan and her surname mustbe Sakura. She has be to born on the first day of the first month and must have a cheerful smile that could break through your cold, hard exterior of your heart to get to the soft and mushy interior."

"Shut it," Natsume said through his gritted teeth. "This is about you, not me."

"I bet you stayed pure just for her,"Ruka said. "I do remember you coming to parties and then drinking your night away. You never went with any other girls while you were drunk. But I did overhear Sakura one day that you would always come home and tackle her after your drinking parties. Except you never did anything to her."

"She made some stupid promise that she'll keep her lips pure for the one she marries," Natsume said with a quick dash of rolling his crimson eyes. "And she doesn't even know who she'll marry. The idiot..."

"You want her lips to be yours, huh, Natsume?" Ruka said teasingly.

"No one asked for your opinion," Natsume said almost too quickly but Ruka snickered in the end anyway.

"It wasn't my opinion, I was just stating the truth," Ruka said with a small chuckle. "Next thing you know, you'll want to do--"

The phone was hung up before Ruka could end his sentence. Natsume already knew what was going to be said next. Funny thing is, his friends used to tease him about Mikan when they found out that he liked her. It used to be Ruka with Mikan but it changed when Ruka blurted a little secret of Natsume's out and started to tease him.

Even though Natsume's friends teased him about Mikan, something had to be done. What his friends called: drastically evil. Only his friends knew about it and it was going to stay that way.

"Mikan, can you get table four? I'm a bit busy," Anna said to Mikan while holding a tray full of food.

Mikan, who was washing a table with a damp, green cloth, turned to Anna and answered, "Sure. I just cleaned this table already twice in a row." Mikan hoisted the rag and walked into the kitchen to hang it up on a bar to let it dry, then throwing it into the laundry bin.

She walked out of the kitchen, avoiding Anna's crazy rushes and walked over to table four. Table four contained four men who were laughing and telling stories about what happened in their jobs. Just a group of friends hanging out. "I'm Mikan, I'll be your waitress today, so how may I help you men?" Mikan asked and pulled out a notepad with a pencil.

"You can do a little strip-teasing dance for us, I need some entertainment," one man said with a smug smirk on his face.

"Calm down, Ryou, we're here to eat not flirt with women," another man spoke. "I'll have the wasabi platter with soy sauce on the side."

Mikan jotted the notes down and looked expectantly at the man beside the one that spoke, which was 'Ryou.' "I just want something quick, like pork ramen," he answered. "I have to be back at my job before two o'clock."

She jotted down on the notepad with her pencil, making it clear and readable. She looked at the next man. "Wasabi platter without the soy sauce," he said. "It's a test to see who's manlier, right Takashi?"

Takashi rolled his eyes and waited for the last man to speak. When the last man saw that Mikan was down writing the other man's order down, she looked at him. "I don't really want anything," he answered. "I'll just have water instead."

Mikan nodded and wrote down the notes. "I'll be back with your orders," she said with a smile and turned to leave. Then someone spank her rear end; she stiffened when she felt the contact. The man chortled and high-five his posse who also laughed with him.

Mikan turned around to see the men laughing, she pointed her index finger at them accusingly and yelled, "YOU PERVERTS!!"

Anna, who was coming from the kitchen saw that Mikan was not in her happy mood. She could already feel the killing aura that's been vibrating around Mikan for a couple of seconds. "Misaki-sempai!" Anna called out. "I may need your help!"

Misaki marched out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon in her right hand and walked over to Anna. "What's the problem?" Misaki asked and looked at Anna who pointed towards Mikan. Misaki turned her gaze the girl who looked like she was ready to kill.

Misaki sighed and walked over to the Mikan. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and asked, "Is there a problem here?" The men's laughter slowly started to die down when they saw a stern look on Misaki's face. One of her hands were at her hips and her lips were tugged down.

"One of them wanted me to do a strip-teasing dance and then spanked me!" Mikan yelled into Misaki's ear.

Misaki protected her ear with the hand that was on Mikan's shoulder to prevent Mikan from yelling in it again. "I see," Misaki said, then turning her gaze to the men who were staring at them. "At this diner, we don't serve entertainment, we serve food. We could sue you for sexual harassing her, so I demand an apology to Mikan."

"Why should we do something like that?" one of them asked that happened to sexually harass Mikan. He fiddled with his thumbs and waited for an answer.

"Because it's impolite," a deep voice said from across the diner. It suddenly became quiet and the voice's footsteps echoed through the diner. He finally became visible to the group that was making a scene. "You were always the one who made a scene, Sakura."

Mikan looked to see who spoke and it was none other than Natsume. "Natsume?" Mikan questioned and just stared in awe of Natsume.

"Who the fuck are you?" one of men asked and quirked a brow at Natsume. "Some bodyguard to this little girl?" The man pointed at Mikan with his thumb and slouched lower in his seat.

Natsume blinked. "If that were the case, then I'm not getting paid enough," Natsume said. "But I want you to apologize to Sakura or consequences will be served."

"What kind?"

Natsume rolled his eyes and said, "I could make you die before you leave this diner, make you never have kids, or turn you into a girl."

One of them laughed and asked, "Turn us into a girl? Like how?"

"I know some one who makes quite unique inventions and she made one for special occasions such as this," Natsume said. "It'll be surgically removed, if you know what I mean."

"What will be removed?" one asked dumbly.

"The thing that keeps you a male, stupid!" Misaki yelled and knocked the male upside the head with a tint of pink graced on her face.

Natsume looked over at Misaki and asked, "When does Sakura get off?"

"Off what?" Misaki asked and turned to Natsume.

"Work," Natsume said and glanced over at Mikan who was still staring in awe of Natsume.

"Well, we can let her go early today," Misaki said. She tilted her head upwards and stared at the blank ceiling with her index finger tapping her chin.

Natsume walked over to Sakura and said, "First, we get these guys to apologize to you quickly and then we're leaving. Got that?"

Mikan nodded meekly and turned her gaze to the males that were sitting in the booth. "Apologize to her so we could leave," Natsume said and placed his hands into his pockets.

"Is there a reason?" a male asked.

Misaki groaned in irritation and yelled, "Of course, there is! You males are so stubborn!"

Natsume pulled one of his hands to rub his temples to calm his temper that will burst anytime soon. "I don't have time for this," Natsume said. "Oi, Harada. Find out about these men and give me the information when you have the time. We're leaving." Natsume grabbed onto Mikan's wrist and pulled her to the door of the famous diner.

"We don't have your number!" Misaki yelled.

"Call Sakura's," Natsume said over his shoulder and pulled Mikan through the doors. In front of the diner was a black, sparkling clean limo that was waiting for them. "It's easier for me to get a limo than a taxi," Natsume comment and dragged Mikan inside the limo.

Mikan squeaked when she was shoved into a leather seat that was beside Natsume. "Where are we going?" Mikan asked.

"Somewhere," Natsume answered.

"Which is where?" Mikan asked and narrowed her eyes.

...

"I'm not telling."

Mikan groaned because she thought she almost had him; apparently, she didn't. She continued to whine and asked as to where they were heading off to, while Natsume kept telling her he wasn't going to say any answer to the topic -- which made Mikan whine even more.

Mikan's eyes looked outside, watching the scenery change every second. Neither of them spoke a word. Natsume was also staring outside, waiting to arrive at their destination; yet expecting Mikan to say something. She can't stay quiet all the time.

Sakura trees came into view and there was a gate with a sign that said, 'No Trespassing' on it. The limo stopped and Natsume moved his hand to open the back door, he quickly glanced at Mikan and saw her a bit shocked. "We're here?" Mikan asked.

"Yeah," Natsume replied and opened the door. He got out of the limo and waited for Mikan to climb out.

She came out slowly, scanning the surroundings. She caught the gate and the sign on it. "'No trespassing?'" Mikan read and furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

"They were going to make this place a parking lot, now let's go," Natsume said and grabbed onto Mikan's wrist, dragging her along.

"We can't get through the gates!" Mikan yelled.

"I know."

"What do you mean, 'I know?'" Mikan clenched her fist and tried to pull herself free from the tight grasp that belonged to Natsume.

A quick sigh emitted from Natsume's lips and he replied, "We're going to climb over the wall to see the park before it disappears. Is that too hard?"

Mikan narrowed her eyes, yet she made no reply. Therefore, Natsume took that as a 'no' and found a tree that was on the sidewalk to climb on. He pulled her to the tree and started to climb until he reached the nearest branch. When he was there, he crouched down, hanging his arm down for Mikan to reach up to.

"Grab on," Natsume commanded. Seeing the look in his eyes made Mikan grab on; tightly. He pulled the girl up until her knees made contact with the branch. "We only need to go a little more higher before we could jump over the gates."

Mikan nodded and followed after Natsume, climbing the branches carefully. She silently prayed that she won't fall off or anything; the tree was flippin' tall. Natsume saw that all they needed to do was now walk cautiously along the branches and jump over the gate. He's done this plenty of times before.

Natsume reached over to Mikan to grab her wrist. His hand made contact with her skin and grabbed onto it tightly, guiding her on the branch. It wasn't as sturdy as the others were; maybe this branch was tiny and they could go for another one.

But by the looks of it, Natsume chose not to and continued to slowly walk on the branch. His feet were taking each step carefully, making sure he didn't hear a crack in the branch, telling him that it'll break soon if he continues on.

He was nearing the edge of the branch and he tugged on Mikan's wrist harder so they both can jump over the gate together. Mikan made a small shriek, expecting to hit the gate instead, but only jumping over it with Natsume by her side.

Her eyes were closed, ready to face a hard impact. But she slowly started to peel her eyes open to see the park, still looking as beautiful as ever. "Wow!" Mikan cheered. "It's so beautiful! Like I remembered it was!"

Natsume smirked and looked at the park. It was still lively and huge; contained a load of sakura trees that reminded him of the girl that was with him. He slowly started to get up to stand on his feet. "That was a nice fall," he said when he stood up, slightly slouching. "I want to show you something. Let's go."

Mikan nodded obediently and quickly stood to her feet, following Natsume wherever he was leading her to. Their shoes hit the ground quite noisily and sakura petals came into view. They were slowly falling down the sakura trees, flowing gracefully with the wind.

A couple of petals fell onto Mikan's head and she looked up to watch the petals fall. Her eyes were so focused on the petals that she failed to notice that Natsume just sat down on the ground, his back against a tree's stump. His arms were behind his head, making it a soft pillow for his nape.

The sound of a soft tune went into Natsume's ears, he looked at Mikan to see her humming while fiddling with a couple of sakura petals. He smirked; he slowly removed his hands behind his neck and moved them towards Mikan to capture her legs in an embrace.

She let out a soft 'eep' when she felt Natsume pulling her closer to him. He clung onto her tightly like a stubborn child with their favorite stuffed animal. He nuzzled her neck and breathed in her scent. It was soothing smell to his nose.

The steady breathing that was coming from Natsume and brushed onto her skin, tickled the young female. A tint of pink graced her cheeks perfectly when she felt Natsume giving her butterfly kisses down her neck. Natsume pushed Mikan down to the ground, moving his hands toward her blouse.

His fingers slowly unbuttoned her first two buttons that were on her shirt. His hands slithered to her shoulders, opening the shirt more so he can give her more kisses to her shoulder. Mikan bit her bottom lip to suppress the moan that was trying to escape from her lips. "Na-Natsume..." Mikan whimpered.

He grunted in reply while tracing the kisses up her neck. Mikan's hands grasped onto the grass, pulling the green grass out of the ground. "S-Stop," Mikan said. Natsume mumbled into her skin, tickling her senses.

His mouth went to her jawline and his hands went up to her shoulders, rubbing them soothingly. He was trying to tempt her; but she was trying resist it. It didn't seem like it was going too well.

Soon his mouth made contact with hers. When she felt that pressure against her lips, her eyes widened. I couldn't keep it...Mikan thought. She still remembered that promise after all those years. She felt his lips parting against hers, flinging his tongue out of his mouth to lick her lips.

His tongue went slightly into her mouth and her mouth clicked, she bite his tongue in-between her teeth. He scowled and pressed his lips harder against hers, making her gasp for air. He swallowed the gasp into his mouth and stuck his tongue fully into her mouth. His tongue roamed inside, occasionally brushing against her own tongue.

Natsume removed his mouth from hers and heard her say, "My promise..." Before he could push his lips against hers again, he stopped. He got off her and walked away, leaving the young female on the ground, sulking that her promise was broken.

She placed her fingers near her lips and felt them tingling with an amazing sensation; except she didn't feel "happy." Her eyes were nearly watering and the thoughts kept patterning; I broke my promise, I broke my promise.

Mikan sat up, feeling her lips with the tips of her fingers. A tint of pink blush went across her cheeks and she bit her bottom lip to see if the tingling would stop. It didn't. She lowered her hand and moved it towards her shoulder. Her finger tips made contact with her skin and it felt slightly wet. She removed her hand from her shoulder and placed it into view. She found her fingers smeared with a small amount of blood. He left a hickey...

Mikan buttoned her shirt and got up. It's time for a little lecture...

Natsume looked at the box that was in his palm. He didn't do it just yet; it didn't really seem like it was the right time. He sighed and opened the box to look at it. He almost burnt a whole in his wallet just to pay for the ring. He wanted it be perfect.

He closed the box and placed it in his pocket where it was staying the whole day. He looked up at the sky and noted that it was already evening. The sunset was here; the sky was pink and patched with a couple dots of purple. It looked gorgeous out because there was no cloud in the sky.

Natsume heard foot steps coming closer to him. He looked forward to see if anyone was coming and there he saw was Mikan walking towards him, apparently not looking pleased. "Natsume Hyuuga!" Mikan yelled loudly. She stomped her way to Natsume with her arms slammed against her sides.

"Hey..." Natsume drawled. "Before you can say anything. I know you hate breaking your promises, so here." Natsume went into his pocket and grabbed the box. He took it out and quickly threw it towards Mikan who caught it. It was blue, velvet box and she opened it, revealing a golden band with three big diamonds that sparkled. She took the ring out of the box and looked inside, reading the small message. It touched her heart which was now beating rapidly.

Natsume studied her reaction before he said anything else. It looked like she was amazed so he decided to say something...

"Marry me."

A/N: It's done and I hate it so much! It took me more than two weeks to finish this horrible piece of work! I didn't even know where it was going when I was doing half of the story. I bet I was in la-la land or something. But yeah, I hate it. It's cheap crap.

I even rushed it so I can finish it. It has been on my back so lately that I want it gone! But I'm happy it's done. 8D I put cuss words in here and I don't like that. It just... doesn't seem like my writing. That's one of the reasons I hate this fic.

Well, it's midnight here and I don't want to go to bed yet... so yeah.

- Etsuko O. Daikama (-is trying to find something interesting to do while awake-)