Title: Proven and Effective

Summary: That day, after a heartbreak, she received a very unusual advice from the most unexpected person.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

"When I went searching for love, I didn't find it. That's why stopped looking… then it found me." :)

She sat there, her arms hugging her knees and her head resting on top of them. She sat there, waiting in silence with her tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

Mikan hugged her knees even more when she felt a lone tear fall from her hazel orb. Her brain was suddenly filled with images she saw earlier.

Ruka hugging the crying Hotaru.

Then Ruka kissing the crying Hotaru…

Ruka suddenly telling the crying Hotaru that he loves her.

The crying Hotaru saying she felt the same way towards him, too.

It seemed right, ne? But something's wrong with the picture. What, you ask? The Ruka who confessed to Hotaru was her boyfriend.

A sob escaped between her lips.

"Tch. Stop crying, little girl. You're disturbing my solitude," a voice from above the sakura tree said. The nullifier smirked, her tears staining her pretty face.

She didn't even have to look at the source of the voice to actually know who it was. She already knew he was here in this place since he didn't go to class this morning… again. Her heart… it somehow knew that he was here.

And knowing that Natsume was there with her, even though he was sitting on one of the tree's branches, made her heart beat faster. And the next thing she knew, tears kept falling from her eyes and she couldn't do anything to make them stop.

"Oi, I told you to stop crying already," he said before clicking his tongue because of annoyance once again. He was still comfortably sitting on the tree's low branch, with both of his hands at the back of his head.

"So-sorry," she stammered. "I just can't help it. And stop being a jerk, Natsume! Just… for now?"

A moment of silence was casted on the both of them, and surprisingly, the fire caster was the one to break it this time.

"So… an idiot like you has problems, too?" he asked, teasingly. But in Natsume Hyuuga's other words, this sentence actually meant: Please tell me what's hurting you now, Mikan.

The brunette pouted as she gently wiped the tears away from her eyes. It might sound crazy but… by the time that she heard Natsume's voice, her… uh… problem didn't even enter her mind. Until now that he asked.

She felt her heart clench as the same images flashed in her mind once again. The thought of Hotaru and Ruka doing things like that behind her back didn't even cross her mind. Not even once.

She hugged her knees even more and she just found herself telling him about the scene that she saw that morning.

She waited for the pain but it didn't come. Maybe because her heart longed for times like this. The two of them sitting together at the sakura tree with nothing to worry about… with not even an ounce of care to the world.

Mikan sighed, as she felt the familiar beating of her heart whenever she was with Natsume. Okay. She gave up once again. She was not hurt anymore because maybe… her heart remembered the feeling of him being with her once again.

And she must also say… Natsume was awfully talkative today for he was the one to break the tensed silence.

"You know, Polka-dots," he said before jumping onto the ground. He sat on the opposite side of the tree before continuing. "Ruka might be my best friend but he is still a bastard. A bastard for hurting the girl I love… and a bastard for hurting an idiot like you."

The nullifier giggled which made him stop.

"You're really talkative today, Natsume. Do you know?" Mikan asked him, before sighing. She then heard him snicker afterwards.

"Shut up, Polka. Just listen to me. I might knock some senses into that stupid brain of yours," he said, before continuing where once again. "Do you know what will torture Ruka the most, Polka-dots?"

At this point, Mikan crawled and settled beside Natsume. She stared into his emotionless face as he continued his talking.

"No. Don't look at me like that, Polka. Just let me finish with what I'm going to say."

The fire caster coughed as Mikan smiled and nodded at him.

"So… do you know?" The brunette shook her head. This made Natsume smirk. Maybe it's time to tell her some of his self-formulated plans.

Natsume waited for a second or two before he continued. He closed his eyes as he open his mouth to tell her what he does every day since the two of them got together last year.

"Get over it, stop crying and show them that what they did didn't even hurt you one bit."

"Eh?" Mikan said, as she looked at his face.

"You don't believe me?" He smirked. "You should try it. I've done it several times before."

The brunette saw his handsome face scrunched as he looked like he was thinking of something. Then he suddenly added, "No. Scratch that. I've done that all the time. It's proven. And it's effective, I tell you. So trust me on this one, Polka."

He dusted his pants as he stood up. He then looked back at her.

"Persona is calling for me," he said curtly before giving her a nod. He then started to walk into the Northern Forest.

"Yeah. Take care, Natsume," was all that she could say.

She was alone now. And now that she thought of it, he was… quite right. But then, a thought came into her mind. He has been in love before? Who was the girl he fell in love with?

She felt something squeezed her heart as she looked at his back as he walked away from her.

It was then that she remembered… as she looked at his figure… he was getting farther each step he took. It was then that she realized…

He was the one she truly loved.

But what she had with Ruka… let's say that Mikan, being as dense as she was, was just in love with idea of Ruka, the school prince, liking her… well, maybe.

She looked at his back once again, with her thoughts full of regrets. Why?

She remembered… she was in love with him.

A/N: This fic is solely dedicated to me :) Haha.

This fic was actually written during my only class this summer. Lol. I couldn't get it off my head that's why… it resulted to this. Pardon the plot, the genre and the way this was written. Something's bothering me these past few days.

So… review? :)