Disclaimer: All that belongs to me are all the mistakes on this page! I will edit it later. And Gakuen Alice does not belong to me whatsoever.

Oh right, this is now a two-shot.

Eternity: Essence of Love

Even if eternity means forever, everything dies. But some things die only to be done all over again. But sometimes, you can prevent and change things from happening.

Part two.

"Help me," I shouted through the entire neighborhood as I tried to get away from those pesky paparazzi/reporters. As I ran, more heads turned to me and began to chase me too! I ran into a dark alley hoping they lost me. I took a look on the edge of the brick red apartments. I sighed in relief when I finally agreed that they were gone. I skipped in the dark alley happily trying to reach the other side. However, I passed by an injured boy breathing roughly holding onto his cut-filled body.

I walked over to him and right when I was a single 1 ft. away, his eyes boomed open and his hand came hurdling on my neck. His eyes were filled with hate, maybe even misery. I couldn't look at them while his hand crashed my fragile body onto the other side of the alley. I felt his eyes burn holes into my head.

As I finally got the courage to stare him in the eye, I moved my head and attempted to face him. While my eyes darted towards his crimson ones, his eyes' hate a while ago, they began to soften and he stopped trying to strangle me.

When he let me go, I should've run towards the end of the alley right away. Instead, I was stupid and stayed back breathing hastily. I didn't notice before that he had such a strong hold on my neck; I didn't feel hurt from him at all actually. It was really weird.

He dropped himself on the floor as well, breathing nearly as hard as me. He closed his eyes and leaned against the brick wall. I stepped closer and he instantly glared at me. I took a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to him. He didn't take it though; he just turned the other way with his face way sourer than a prune. I didn't care. Something and I don't know what made me feel like he was no threat to me even if he could have killed me two minutes ago. No matter what I tried to say to myself to get away from him, it didn't work. All I knew was that something about him kept bringing me closer and closer to his murderous crimson red eyes, something about him seemed deadly, something about him made me feel crazy. I wasn't scared of him at all.

I brought my hand with the handkerchief closer to his face. He made a slight movement of his eyes and stared at the pink cloth my hand held close to his cut up face. At first I thought that he'd push my hand away and tell me to leave, but everyone is wrong sometimes.

I commenced to wipe the almost dry blood off his face. He winced at a few places on his face but at other times he wouldn't do anything but just let me continue. "What's your name?" I asked while rubbing some blood from slightly under his eye.

At first he was silent. Then he replied, "Natsume," his voice was really low, "Natsume Hyuuga." He replied bluntly. I've heard that name before. Hyuuga? Where have I heard that name?

"Well my name is Mikan, Mikan Sakura," I smiled at him and brought my hand out for him to shake. But his eyes were wide open, staring at me. After a moment of bafflement, he slowly reached my hand and gave it one good and firm shake. His hands were cold and I felt his body shivering from just his hand. Soon, he fainted onto my lap.

"Natsume!" I tried to shake him awake. His face was all red and his breathing was getting harder and harder. I put my ear on his chest and I heard his heart's beating increased more and more.

I gave up and carried him back to my house –pretty tough time though considering the fact that he was kind of heavy. I dragged him all the way to my house. I lived in the second to the top floor of the Sakura Hotel and Resorts. My parents lived in the very top. I had the entire second to the top of the thirty-six floored resort to myself. My parents were always busy with work and stuff and were labeled as the richest people in Japan. Now you know why paparazzi/reporters were chasing me.

I didn't have trouble with all of my fan-boys in the lobby; the resort security will deal with all of them. I entered the elevator with Natsume still draped over my shoulder as I typed in my password to the key to get up to my floor. Luckily, the resort had this great security, courtesy of my best friend and the prodigy inventor of the Imai Enterprises. She made sure that nobody would be able to bother me. The only ones who had a key to my floor were me, my parents, and Hotaru.

As I entered the floor, I headed for the guest room. I opened one of them and laid Natsume on the king sized black leather bed. He shivered and I grabbed a blanket for him. I didn't put it on him just yet though. I grabbed some first aide stuff from the bathroom and bandaged parts of his body that were cut. I put some ointment on them too but made sure it wasn't the one that sting so he wouldn't have to wake up. I put my forehead on his while he shivered again. He had a fever.

I got a thermometer right away and placed it in his mouth. After a few seconds, it showed that he was over 102 degrees. I didn't know what to do for a fever. I made him some soup but right when I was already finished, I remembered he was asleep so he couldn't eat it. I read some books in the small library in the other room about fevers and found one treatment. Body heat. Crap. I didn't feel like doing that.

But when I entered the room, he was shivering so much that the bed began to shake a bit. I shouldn't even be caring for him I mean, he was just some stranger; but I felt like I knew him and I couldn't let him die from a fever when I have the antidote in my hands—err body. I sighed.

I unbuttoned my shirt and put on a skirt. I kept my undergarments on and my skirt while I went into the bed with the blanket in my hands. I wrapped the blanket around him then I entered it as well. I made sure to turn off the lights just in case he woke up. I took off his shirt but kept everything else on him. He kept shivering so I finally went into the blanket too and laid stomach first on his shirtless self. My head was on his chest and I was blushing immensely. I stayed there for a while until he finally stopped shivering. He was warm again.

But I didn't get up. I forgot about my situation and I fell asleep instantly. I was so tired I forgot almost everything. My mind went blank as my eyes fluttered closed. Yet, I got a weird dream:

I woke up and Natsume was still asleep. I noticed my body on top of his and I remembered that that is how I fell asleep last night. I was relieved that he wasn't awake yet. While I was about the get up, I looked at his face while my arms lifted myself up to see his face. I didn't notice what was happening; I only noticed the outcome. I was locked with Natsume's lips. I was the one who kissed him and not the other way around. Yet, I didn't stop even if I knew it. I only kissed him back. His eyes went open and we still continued.

I woke up feeling heat in my cheeks, and more heat in my mouth. I was relieved that it was just a dream. I opened my eyes and found myself cradled in Natsume's strong arms. His lips were on top of mine kissing me lightly. I stared at him while his eyes were closed. I should've stopped right from the moment I noticed his lips on me when I woke up. But instead, I kissed him back. As he noticed the movement in my lips, his eyes turned wide open and was shocked. I put my hand on his cheeks and he continued to kiss me back, way more passionately.

We stayed like that for a moment until I stopped, finally completely realizing what I have been doing. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

I sat up, "It's okay, I'm sorry too." Luckily, the lights were still off and the windows were closed so he didn't see my body. Even though, I still wrapped myself in the blanket.

We sat there for quite a while until he broke the silence, "Uhm," I turned to face him, "Thank you for uh," he shrugged, "taking care of me." He talked as if he knew me, but I knew just as well as he did that there was no way in the universe two total strangers that meet each other and feel like they have known each other since the day they were born. I sighed at the thought, whatever.

I smiled, "Your welcome," I said trying to get up from the bed and get into clothes. I felt weird while I just let him sit on my bed, in the blinding darkness, while I changed into my clothes. After I changed, I opened the lights and looked at the clock. It was the middle of the morning, 3 in the morning to be exact. I went into the kitchen to get the soup.

When I came back, Natsume was still laying down on my bed –shirtless- and staring at the ceiling. I went to the small coffee table near the still closed windows and poured some soup in bowls for both of us. "Why," I paused, "why did you help me in the first place?"

I couldn't answer his question, but I had to answer it somehow. "I don't know," I smiled and faced him, "I guess I just felt like it." He moved his head my way to look at me with those mesmerizing crimson eyes of his.

"I think your lying" he smirked. I didn't answer for a while and went back to the soup, he sighed "Well, if you ask me, I feel like I know you." I walked over to him and gave him the soup, "have you ever felt that?" I nodded. He took the soup and thanked me. He sat up and I could see his body now, he had an eight pack, muscular around the arms, and he looked really strong. I couldn't help but blush. What's wrong with me? I felt my heart pounding so much. We talked for a long time, and I couldn't help but ask him any thing, luckily he didn't mind. He did the same with me.

"Why did you stop strangling me when I just looked at you and when I told you my name you looked like you had just seen a ghost?" I asked him giving him a glass of orange juice.

He didn't answer for a while. So we just ate soup and I thought he would never answer, "You see," I looked at him, "I don't know why I stopped strangling you but you seemed very familiar," I nodded in agreement, "—and when you told me your name," he paused, "there was this story once in our family, my great-great-great-great-great-grandmother was told that she could cast spells and curses. She even created the worlds first blue roses."

"Really?" I replied animatedly, he nodded.

"Well, don't get scared but there was this one story. My mother told me that my great-great-great-great-great grandmother cast a curse on a girl with the same exact name as you. I was told that her son was in love with the girl that has the same name as you but they were different. He was nothing but a villager and the girl was the princess. One day, they decided to run away and just live together somewhere far away but they were caught by that palace guards and yeah." He paused there for quite a while, but I didn't interrupt because I had a feeling that there was something more.

He looked straight at me, "Do you want to know the rest?" I nodded slowly, "well, my great-great-great-great-great grandmother's son was buried alive." I was shocked to hear what he said; it was just tragic. "And my grandmother, being able to curse, cursed the girl's family. She said that everything would repeat itself all over again, from the families' heir all the way until not even one of their daughters were left. Every time one of them were involved with love, the daughter will die until the way everything happened was altered." I tried to understand everything he said, but I was still shocked of all the tragedy that had happened, but there was more and much worst.

"There is something you have to know," he said slowly, "the girl, after hearing that her love died, hanged herself in her room and that was it." I felt tears coming in my eyes, it was just too sad. Then I remembered something almost the same happened with my aunt, almost the same. "But that is not the bad part," he paused for a much longer time, "the one my great-great-great-great-great grandmother cursed," I stared, afraid of what he would say, "her name was Mikan Sakura," I was frozen. I couldn't move, felt like I couldn't breath either, I was suffocating, "and my great-great-great-great-great grandmother's son's name was. . . Natsume Hyuuga." That did it. I really couldn't move anymore, no one would have believed that story he told me. But the problem I that no matter what he says, it's true because. . . my own mother told me that story but without the names.

One Year Later

Natsume and I have been investigating what has been going on in our past. We needed to talk to someone who was there, but who?

Natsume and I have also been well. . .together for the past year. My parents do not know about him and I do not want them too. Natsume told me that the Sakuras and Hyuugas have never got along, ever. He did sleep over sometimes, since he seemed to be without a home.

We have, sort of gone over the top of our relationship. But we couldn't help it. What do you expect, an eighteen year old girl, with a nineteen year old boy, in the same roof of the house during nightfall? We promised each other that we wouldn't allow the curse to reach us. That was our promise to each other.

One day, Natsume left our resort and kissed me goodbye in the elevator. Just as I was entering my bedroom again, I saw my parents, sitting on the sofa, their faces filled with fury. I was wondering why they were so angry then, I noticed something in my father's hands. It was a picture of me and Natsume taken two months ago in this small photo booth. It would've just been a regular picture with one of my friends and I. The problem was that on the bottom of the picture it said our names under our pictures. Like usual Natsume wasn't smiling in the picture but he wasn't pissed off either.

I tried to escape my parents' terrifying stare, more like glare. "What is the meaning of this!" My father shouted showing me the picture, "You know who this is correct?" I didn't answer, "Correct?" He said with much more fury, I nodded weakly. "Then, if you knew who this mongrel was," he pointed to Natsume in the picture, "why didn't you stay away from him! You know the curse his family—"

"Curse? You really believe that silly thing?" I cut him off, "Even if it was true! I love him and there is nothing you can do about it!" My words surprised me. I didn't know that I loved him, but right that moment; I felt totally in love with him.

"Do not talk to your father like that Mikan!" My mother said with just as cold as the tone in my father's voice.

I glared at them, "I am eighteen years old! You guys can't tell me what to do! I'm already and adult! I can make my own decisions!" I crossed my arms, not willing to give up the argument.

They looked at each other and soon, my parents and I were in a glaring contest. My father broke off first, "Just wait and watch what we can do. We have a lot of power here in Japan." My father taunted me.

"Well you can't control me all the time father! I am not just your daughter, I am also a person. I will not listen to your directions on leaving Natsume because I love him!" I shouted, unable to control the harsh tone in my voice.

My mother sat down on the chair and closed her eyes and put her hand on her forehead. My father though, still stood there, sending death glares my way, "As long as you live under my roof, you will listen to my instructions." He didn't shout it, but he did put a deadly tone in it.

"But—"

"No buts young lady, you are still my daughter and while you live here under the roof that I pay for, you will listen to what I say. End of discussion," he contradicted.

I was about to argue, but I had an idea. "Okay," I agreed. They soon left my room and I jumped on my bed immediately. I tried to stop my tears from coming, but a tear seemed to have escaped which caused some others to come too, until I cried myself to sleep.

I woke up and the sun was shining. I went into the kitchen and ate some Lucky Charms cereal. After breakfast, I packed my things and I was about to call Natsume to get ready for my plan. My plan to run away and live with Natsume. My father said that I would only have to follow his rules when I lived under his roof, but now, that doesn't have to be the way things went. However, before I was about to call Natsume, I heard someone knocking on my door.

I opened it and found no one else but my parents. They were with someone, a boy in this high-class suit. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, (You guessed it!) my parents told him to go in, without my consent first.

"Mikan," my mother called out to me, smiling crazily. It sort of disgusted me that she could smile like that after all the tears that shed from me yesterday. "This handsome man right here," he pointed to the blonde dude, "is your fiancé." I couldn't believe what she was saying! A fiancé!

"No! You can't do this to me!" I shouted at them!

"Yes we can! We are your parents and this is the only way we can think of to get you away from that Hyuuga!" My father shouted back, now I know where I got my stubbornness from.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Sakura, my name is Ruka Nogi and I am pleased—" he tried to get closer to me. I backed away.

"Keep away form me!" I cut him off. I ran to my bedroom and locked the door. My room was the safest place, no one had a key but me and Hotaru. Not my parents, not anybody. I heard them pounding harshly on the door for a while but soon stopped. I stepped closer to the door and placed my ear on it and tried to listen to their conversation.

"We shouldn't make her do this Koaru." I heard my mother say to my father.

"I agree," it was the Nogi, "she shouldn't be forced to marry me. Besides, she loves someone else."

It was silent for a while. "No. My mind is set, she will marry in the Nogi family and we will be prosperous. And if she were with that Hyuuga boy, the curse would surely activate. Remember Meiko, your own sister married in the Hyuuga like it was fate. And her life ended bitterly because her parents didn't agree. I don't know the whole story but I'm sure that if Mikan were to marry a different man, her fate wouldn't be like your poor sister." He told my mother. I glared at them from behind the door.

My father was an idiot, and I knew my mother wouldn't say anything. She knew that the reason her sister died was because her parents forced her to marry too and killed the one she loved and she killed herself by jumping off a building. Many in her family had ended like that, except for my mother. We didn't know why but she did not end up like everyone else. She knew what they were doing could lead for the worst, but she still didn't say anything.

I heard them exit and I immediately called Natsume. "Hello?"

"Natsume? It's Mikan." My voice was rough from all the crying.

"Oh hello, are you okay? Your voice sounds really bad little girl."

I thought I saw him smirking through the phone, but I didn't have time to argue with him. "Listen, my parents found out about us and are planning an arranged marriage—"

"What! They can't do that! You are mine Mikan Sakura! I love you and you are mine!" He shouted through the phone. Saying those things were unlike him, he's never and I mean never said those things. I guess his inferiority got the better of him.

"I know. Meet me where we first met in ten minutes and bring everything you have." I replied to him.

He was quiet for a while, "Where are we going?" His voice was still scratchy with anger.

"We are leaving, together." That's all I needed to say for him to agree.

I ran to the dark alley and found Natsume in the shadows. I recognized him because even in the dark, his crimson eyes stood out. I hugged him as soon as I saw him and kissed him too. I haven't seen him for a while and I did what my instincts told me to do. We were about to walk towards the airport but something grabbed us both, Ruka Nogi.

"I'm sorry, but I have to Ms. Sakura." He said, sounding very weird. Rain began to poor, really hard rain. Luckily, Natsume got away from his grasp and pulled me away too. He'd usually be caught in street fights so he knew what he was doing. He punched Ruka really hard on the face and Ruka returned the punch but on Natsume's stomach. Natsume coughed but continued.

As the battle continued, I cried for Natsume. He looked really beat up but I felt helpless where I stood. All I could do was cry. Then, I remembered the story. The story of the curse stated that if things were to change, the curse would be lifted. But how? I didn't know! I cried and cried as Natsume and Nogi just continued jabbing themselves with punches all over their body. Natsume seemed stronger though, but when I thought that there was a bit of hope in the battle, Nogi took out a gun.

He faced it to Natsume and activated the bullet that could've pierced through Natsume's body in any moment. "I love you Mikan," I heard him say trying to sound calm even if he wasn't, "and I always will.". I didn't know what to do. I thought about the lifting of the curse again. I didn't want Natsume to die. I wouldn't.

Nogi's hand reached for the trigger, "Natsume!" I shouted and ran to Natsume to hug him. Nogi shot the bullet. I protected Natsume from the bullet letting myself get hit. I felt the blood dripping from my back. I looked up and saw Natsume's wide eyes looking down at me. "I-I'm glad y-you-your s-sa-safe." I said with a smile. I felt my body becoming weak as I collapsed in his arms. I heard Nogi run away.

"Mikan!" Natsume shouted really loudly and sat in the rain. That was the last thing I heard.

Natsume sat in the hospital holding Mikan's hands in his. On her mouth was a tube and this beeping thing on the other side of the bed. He was relieved that he made it in time. The doctors said that Mikan would be all right now. But he still couldn't help but worry. She looked so helpless, needles piercing through her body after the bullet operation to get it out. Natsume felt guilty, if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have to be there, he thought to himself. Her parents came earlier and Mikan's mother finally told Mikan's father the truth. They were very unwilling but they allowed Natsume to have a relationship with Mikan. Her mother was crying when she saw her daughter on the bed looking horrible from what happened. They even apologized to Natsume, they agreed to the relationship but still thought that Ruka would've been better but decided to leave them alone.

He noticed Mikan's body shaking. He stood up from the chair he was sitting on, "Mikan! Mikan!" He began to shout her name while she shook on the bed. "Doctor!" He shouted for the doctor. He kept shouting and shouting until a doctor finally entered.

He tried to shock Mikan's heart with the nurse by his side while he tried to make her heart beat again. The bullet nearly reached her heart from her back. The doctor continued the procedure watching the beeping thing from the side. (sorry idk what that thing is called) The heart monitor was getting lower and the beeping began to decrease. Natsume still held Mikan's hand and kept calling for her. "Mikan! Please! Don't leave me! I need you!" He shed tears for the first time in his life.

Suddenly, the beeping turned into one long single beep. The doctors shook their heads and turned to Natsume, "I'm sorry," Natsume's tears began to turn as hard as the rain. He cried and cried, tears covering nearly his entire cheeks. He cried and cried on Mikan's bed.

Beep. . . beep. . . beep

He heard a steady beating from the heart monitor. His tears stopped and he just looked at Mikan who's breathing returned! The doctors looked at what was happening and said that it was impossible. She was already dead. But Natsume didn't give a crap on it, he was happy that Mikan was alive.

I opened my eyes to find Natsume's tear soaked face looking at me. He was smiling. It was the first time he smiled at me. I returned his smile, "Natsume."

"Mikan!" he pulled me up to an embrace, "Thank god you are alive!" I was confused at first but then I remembered what had happened. Natsume had still trapped me in the hug and I hugged him back. I looked to the side and I saw doctors fussing about something about "miracles" and stuff like that. But I didn't care. I remembered something.

"Natsume," I let him go, and he did the same, "what about my parents?"

"It's okay, they are fine with us now." He whispered, still with that rare smile that I have only seen once. Right this moment.

"But what if they still think we aren't right for each other and say that I should marry that Nogi guy again?" I said sadly.

Natsume just looked at me and shrugged. "If that were to happen," he smirked, "I'll take you somewhere else. And if that really does happen, I will take you to paradise." He kissed me then and there. But I didn't try to stop him even when my parents suddenly entered. They were shocked to see us in there, alone, making out on the bed. But my mother pulled my father away before he had a fit. But before they left, I noticed a happy smile on my mother's face. She was happy for us. And now, I was sure that me and Natsume, will always be together, even after a whole eternity.

End

Writer's Note:

Confused on how the curse ended: Oh right, the curse was also lifted that's why Mikan didn't die even if the curse was that everything will keep happening again and again until things are changed and every time the Sakura girl will die. The curse was lifted because Mikan changed what was supposed to happen –Natsume dying- into sacrificing herself for him. Which never happened with other of the Sakura woman. -And her mother didn't get any of that tragedy stuff because well, I don't know a reason, make something up- every other Sakura girl did though. And sorry for Ruka being the bad one here! But he really isn't, he was just following Mikan's father's orders. Hope that clears things for you just in case.

Finally finished! I finished exactly at 5:27 PM at February 6, 2009. Haha! Yay! Just like I promised! Sorry guys for the tragedy on the other chapter but you got to understand! This is my first tragedy so there was something tragic that was supposed to happen -_-" Well hope you liked it. c:

*A Loverly Smile