"Put in more effort, alright?"

Wiping her brow, Mikan stared intently at the long pole Natsume was holding, then charged forward. Natsume nimbly stepped to the side, swinging the pole in a low sweep. With cat-like reflexes, Mikan jumped over it and kicked out. For what felt like hours they fought fiercely, until finally, at the point of exhaustion, both collapsed on the soft mat they had been using.

Natsume sat up, panting. "The only reason I haven't beaten you yet is because you're so small, you know."

Too tired to respond, Mikan just waved her hand wearily. After she had regained her breath, she sat up as well. "We've been doing this for almost a week, yeah? So when exactly do we meet this trainer guy?"

Natsume was about to speak, when suddenly a voice came from the corner.

"I was wondering when you would ask that!" A man walked out from behind a stack of chairs and smiled brightly. He had soft black hair, and what looked like a star tattoo under his eye. He walked up to Mikan and helped her stand, while Natsume stood on his own.

Mikan looked up at him curiously, grateful she had worn her sunglasses today. She smiled back. "You must be the trainer that old manager told us about, right?"

The man let out a yawn and stretched his arms. "Eh? Yep, that's me alright! So anyways, let's get down to business."

"Hold on a minute!" Natsume interrupted, "We don't even know what's going on. How much do you charge?"

The man stuck out his hand. "Charge? All I want is a good student. The name's Tsubasa."

Natsume shook his hand. "Yeah. I'm Natsume."

Tsubasa turned to smile at Mikan. "And who's this squirt?" He held out his hand and Mikan shook it firmly. "Mikan."

Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been a while! So I was kinda rereading my story, and WOW did I make a lot of mistakes! Oh gosh, I was new to writing and all, but still! lol, thanks for sticking with me, you guys :)

Natsume could only watch from the sidelines as both characters suddenly grinned widely at one another, then did some sort of secret handshake.

"… Wha?"

Mikan walked over and gave him a pat on the back. "Don't worry about it, Natsume, you wouldn't understand."

Tsubasa walked over as well, chuckling. "How did this guy end up with you? You're like total opposites - even I can tell after stal-observing you."

Natsume rolled his eyes and sighed. "What the heck? Let's just get this started. So why are you offering to teach Mikan for free?"

Eyes shining, Tsubasa looked over at Mikan, who stared blankly back at him. "I already said, all I want back is a wonderful student. It's always been my dream to train someone to become a professional, and if this kid's got the potential I think she does, then that's good enough for me." Walking over, he crouched down and stared straight at Mikan through the sunglasses.

"However, it's not gonna happen if you're wearing these the whole time. You don't need to worry about the sun, right? We're inside a building…"

Mikan shifted uncomfortably. "Er… I can't really do that…"

Smiling, Tsubasa tapped her shoulder. "Kiddo, sometimes you've just gotta let go of what's holding you back. I noticed you didn't remove these things once during the entire week. You sure you don't want to explain?"

Head lowered, Mikan quietly shook her head. Sighing dejectedly, Tsubasa stood up and handed a piece of paper to Natsume, who was watching all this silently. "When she's changed her mind, call me, alright? I can't have a student who's hiding something, but I'd definitely regret losing someone with such great potential."

Natsume just nodded stiffly, then grabbed Mikan out the door. In the car, he leaned back, not looking at her. "So, wanna explain why you just wasted my entire week for nothing?"

Said girl tapped her finger nervously against the window. "I can't trust someone I just met."

Disbelief reached Natsume's voice, as he angrily replied to her sullen comment. "Are you kidding me? Mikan, you barely had any walls at all when me and Luca met you! Why on earth would you say something like that right now?"

"I don't know, maybe because in the past year that I've known you, things have changed! I'm not the same girl that I was before, young and immature!"

"Really," Natsume shouted back, "Was it immature of you to befriend us? Is that what you think? Because I was thinking that it was probably the best thing that happened in your life!"

Eyes flashing, Mikan leapt out of the car and slammed the door shut. "Best thing that ever happe-are you fricken kidding me? If I could take back meeting you two, then I would do it in an instant!"

There was silence, then Natsume started the engine. "So you really think of us that way, huh? Then that's fine with me. Forget me helping you anymore, brat." with that said, he backed out of the parking lot, not even glancing at the furious girl.

After walking home, Mikan wearily stumbled into her bedroom, too exhausted to say anything to Mom, who was staring worriedly at her. Her bed was amazingly soft at the moment, and she collapsed into a deep sleep.

Someone knocking caused her to wake up, and she rubbed her eyes, groaning. "Who is it?"

"It's me, sweetie."

"Mom? Come in, I guess."

Mom walked in, and Mikan scooted over so she could sit down. Frowning worriedly, the woman brushed Mikan's hair back, staring into the girl's tired eyes. "Honey, I understand that you've been fighting with Natsume?"

Rolling her eyes, Mikan looked away.

"I'll take that as a yes. Mikan, you two have been bickering with one another since the day I met you, but never once has it been so serious that Natsume would come raging home, muttering curses at you."

Eyes wide, Mikan let out an infuriated gasp. "That arrogant jerk cursed at me?" her voice was high with indignation. "I don't believe it! I swear, the next time I see him, I'm gonna-!" She was interrupted by Mom, who sternly looked her in the eyes.

"I will not have two of my kids swearing! Listen, I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but I just thought I would tell you not to forget the good times, okay?"

Confused, Mikan was about to say something, but Mom stood up before she could open her mouth. "That's all I'm going to say. Oh, and be at the table for dinner in fifteen minutes!"

The door slammed shut, leaving a very befuddled Mikan to stare blankly at the door.

"So then he says, 'I don't get it, but I'm going home to take care of my pet rabbit!"

Mom and Luca burst into laughter, while Mr. Nogi chuckled at his own joke. However, two certain kids were silently having a battle of glares over their food.

"Mikan, Natsume, you haven't eaten a bite," Mom said wearily. "Now, I better see clean plates by the end of dinner, or both of you are going to be cleaning the kitchen together."

All three blondes stared in shock as two plates were sparkling clean in a matter of seconds.

While wiping down the counter, Luca glanced at his mom, who was putting away dishes. "I heard what you told Mikan, Mom. Why are you saying something like that to her? I'm sure there were better ways of getting them to make up."

Mom gave a small laugh. "With those two, I don't think anything will really help."

"So why did you go in there at all?"

She paused. "I was thinking, after Natsume stormed in. Has Mikan ever been in a fight with a friend before? I mean, besides you two teasing her all the time. Does she know the first thing about making up?"

Luca looked down. "Who knows. She doesn't say anything about herself. And we don't even know what they're fighting about, which makes it harder."

"Where's Mikan?"

Natsume refused to answer Luca's question, just continued staring at the TV.

"Natsume? Natsume!"

Sighing sullenly, said boy looked up and glared at his friend. "What?! Why on earth would I know where that kid is sulking?"

"Gee, I don't know, maybe because you both stomped out of the dining room together?" Luca muttered angrily. He was about to yell at Natsume, but was interrupted when a pillow flew straight for his head. Letting out a yell, he turned to glare at Mikan who was glaring straight back at him. "What the heck!"

"Don't go to him if you want to find me, moron! I don't even want to be in the same room as him!"

Natsume gave a snort. "And yet, you're the one who walked in here."

"Only because this is the only way to get out of my room, obviously. With you sitting here, I'd almost prefer jumping out the window."

"Well I have news for you-you're not the only one. In fact, the only reason I'm even sitting here is because the only way to get to my room is to walk past yours, which is worse than… walking on fire!"

Mikan gave a mocking laugh that sounded odd coming from her. "You're terrible at this, you know? Idiot, obviously if your Alice is fire then anything would be better!"

Rolling his eyes, Natsume scoffed. "Shows how much you know. Just because my Alice is fire, doesn't mean it won't hurt if I walk on it! And as for you, why are you any better at coming up with insults?"

"Believe me, I could come up with stuff a lot better than this! But for the sake of old times, I'll try not to do something regrettable."

"Too late." Natsume said quietly, turning back to the TV. Mikan was silent, and Luca was staring horrified at the two of them. Mikan was about to leave, but suddenly she turned back.

"You know, I can be pretty selfish."

That hit the mark. Crimson eyes practically glowing with hatred, Natsume slowly turned his head. "So basically what you're saying is, you were so selfish that you went along with me and Luca the day we found you, huh? And now you're regretting it."

Mikan was silent.

"You're not the only one, kid. I wish I had spent that day just relaxing at home, instead of risking my own life just to save your pathetic one! I mean, what was the point? Obviously it meant nothing to you in the end. If anything, maybe you would have rather died right then and there!"

A muffled sound made Natsume glance at his enemy, and what he saw was enough to shut him up. Mikan stood, silently sobbing. When she caught Natsume's eyes, he was shocked by how much hatred she was pointing towards him, just within her ice blue eyes. Eyes narrowed, he wondered if he had finally struck a nerve.

"You…" he looked up.

"You wish I had died!" Mikan screamed, tears streaming down her face. Natsume and Luca are both taken aback by her ferocity. "You wish that I had died, all alone, when nobody would even notice!" A horrifying sound was reaching her voice, and it was so piercing that Luca couldn't help wishing his parents hadn't decided to go out tonight, because right now he didn't know what to do.

"I don't care, I don't care that you wish I had died, because that's all I've ever wanted! I want to die!" Her face was masked with anger. Eyes wide, Luca tried to stop her breathless screams. "Mikan! Don't say that! None of us wish you had died, and you don't want that either!"

Mikan turned to glare at him with glowing eyes. "You idiot, do you really think that I want to be alive? You really have no idea, do you…" Her voice was still laced with anger, but now there was pain.

Natsume looked like he was about to say something, but Luca gave him a hard look and spoke instead. "What, what do we not know?"

Letting out a harsh laugh, Mikan shook her head. "There's no point in telling you two." with that said, she immediately ran out the door, into the pitch black night.

Sharing a glance, Luca and Natsume leapt to their feet and followed her, the latter forgetting his previous anger with her for now.

Mikan's mind was a blurred mess of pain, confusion, and anger. How dare they! They had the nerve to say such things to her? And still, they had no idea why she wished she had never met them! Oh, it was just too funny, and yet she couldn't laugh.

Her bare feet pounded on the hard pavement, bringing her to an unknown destination. The night air was fresh, and helped to cool her mind. Finally sinking to the ground, inside a playground that was a good half-hour from her house, she allowed sanity to enter her mind.

What was getting into her lately? Ever since her and Natsume's fight earlier, she was feeling nothing like herself. Instead, she just felt angry, and unable to think clearly. Still, she couldn't forget her anger towards Natsume. And both boys were so oblivious that it just made her even angrier.

"Mikan!"

Did she not deserve even a minute of solitude before those idiots found her? She opened her mouth to shout at them, but then she caught sight of the two boys who were running to meet her.

"I know you…" she said, frowning. The first, panting for breath, smiled brightly. "Of course-you saved us from the Anti-Alice organization!"

Lighting a small black flame, Mikan got a better look. The one who had called her had spiky, dirty blonde hair with green eyes, while the other looked identical, except that his eyes were tightly closed.

"Oh yeah, I did send you here, didn't I?" she mused. The first nodded, and held out his hand. "I'm Koko. And you're Mikan."

Surprised, Mikan looked up at him. "How did you know that?"

He tapped his head. "Mind-reading Alice. Anyways, I see you're still being all mysterious and cool. What are you doing out here?"

Mikan shrugged. "You know, just hiding from some idiots."

Koko laughed, and helped his friend sit down. "Why don't you just take care of them like you did those jerks back then?"

"Ehehe…" Mikan mumbled. "It's not as simple as that."

The other boy frowned. "Hey Koko, this is that girl you were talking about, right?"

"Yup!" Koko replied, taking another look at Mikan. "Although, the only reason I recognized you is because your presence was familiar. Ya know, it's really powerful. Didn't even have to read your mind!"

Mikan looked away. "Sorry. So who's your friend?"

"Who, him? Oh, he's just some random guy I picked up off the streets." Koko teased, while his friend punched him on the shoulder before turning to Mikan. "Don't listen to him. I'm Kitsu, and it's nice to finally meet you. Oh, and thanks for saving us back there."

"No, it was no big deal," Mikan replied, and they knew it was true. "But why are your eyes closed?"

The two boys shared a glance. Koko answered for him. "It's kinda like… Well, the creeps who were keeping us there… They had a lab, and for that whole time they would use us as test subjects. You know, kind of like lab rats."

Kitsu took over, his voice angry. "They took me in the middle of the night, I couldn't even call out for help. Anyways, one thing led to another and I lost my sight."

Mikan looked down. "I'm sorry I couldn't get there sooner."

Laughing it off, Koko patted the girl's shoulder. "Hey, don't get so down! We're just grateful you came at all!"

Kitsu nodded, smiling. "Seriously, losing my sight might be the best thing that's ever happened to me." His voice grew softer. "Now that I can't rely on my eyes anymore, I've been forced to pay attention to every single thing that I hear, or feel. Like you, for instance. I know just from listening to you that you're sitting down, and your voice is strained in a way that suggests you're using your Alice. Plus, you're distracted."

Mikan gasped in surprise, but grinned the next minute. "That was amazing! How could you tell?"

Koko replied for his friend. "He's pretty good, right? Because he's learned how to detect subtle hints in a person's voice."

Still amazed, Mikan was caught completely by surprise when a hand suddenly grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet.

"What are you doing?!"

Recognizing Natsume's voice, Mikan whirled around and glared at him. "I think I should be asking you the same thing!"

Seeing him glance behind her and Koko and Kitsu, Mikan rolled her eyes. "They're my friends."

Giving a snort, Natsume turned around. "I see you've already moved on from us. Is that how you work."

Koko stood up hurriedly. "Hey, what's going on?" Mikan waved him away. "Nothing, it's just that those idiots I was talking about found me."

"Idiots?" Natsume growled. "You're the one who was saying she wanted to die! I might not be happy with you right now, but even I was worried you were gonna commit suicide!"

"Suicide?" Mikan scoffed. "Please, didn't I already say tha.. Never mind."

Now Luca was catching up, and he heard what Mikan said. "Mikan, you keep saying stuff like this, but never once have you actually explained yourself! I think you should think about doing that right now."

Kok and Kitsu walked over, listening to the conversation. Mikan frowned. "It's not as easy as that. If I were to tell you anything, then I would have to tell you everything!"

Now all four boys were waiting silently. "What?" she asked.

"Why can't you just tell us everything?"

Her heart pounding, Mikan realized she was sweating. "Er…That's…"

Natsume walked over and glared at her. "Do what you want, but we can't help thinking that you just don't trust us. And from your recent behavior, it seems like you hate us."

Koko stepped in-between the two. "Back off, man. Mikan, what's your connection with these two?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Mikan didn't meet his steady gaze. "I kind of… live with them." before Koko could get the wrong idea, she added on hurriedly. "Don't take it that way, I just mean that they helped me out a while back, and I've been staying with their family!"

Luca interrupted. "Wait, so right now you don't even think of us as family? I had thought we were a little more than just two guys who 'helped you out'!"

Now Koko spoke again. "So you're living in their house, and they have no idea what you do? Do they even know who you are? Because if they knew, then i know for a fact they wouldn't be acting like this!"

Mikan raised an eyebrow at him accusingly. "Koko! You read my mind!"

This caused some confusion from Natsume and Luca, but she continued while Koko refused to meet her eyes. "You fricken read my mind without permission! Who gave you the right to do that? And how much do you know!"

Koko gulped. "Uh… I don't know… How badly are you gonna kill me if I said that I saw everything from the day you were born?"

Eyes wide, Mikan sank to her feet. "How… How is that even possible? Nobody knows but me! And how could you possibly have learned all that in a matter if minutes?"

Koko sat next to her uncomfortably. "It's not like I have your whole life memorized, you know. I just have the information stored inside of me for my own use. I'm really sorry, but this conversation was just so interesting that I couldn't help it! Honestly, I would never have done it had I known previously what… Well, you know…"

Letting out a long sigh, Mikan didn't reply. She couldn't believe it. After everything she had done to hide it, somebody… A friend, at that, knew absolutely everything about her.

Luca and Natsume sat next to Mikan as well, soon followed by Kitsu, who was helped by Koko. Natsume spoke first.

"Get your act together, Mikan. If this random guy can suddenly read your entire life, I think me and Luca, who have been by your side without question, deserve to know your story."

There was a painstaking silence, during which Mikan had to slowly gather her thoughts, then she took a breath and opened her mouth to speak. "If you're going to listen to every single thing that I've done, then I won't blame you if you hate me by the end."

"Why can't you spend your time on something worthwhile, Hotaru?"

A raven-haired girl sat stoically on the couch, ignoring her mother's usual berating.

"Are you listening to me, young lady?"

How long before you were going to ask that? Hotaru gave a tiny smirk, and continued with her search. It had been weeks since her encounter with that girl, and even though she refused to admit anything, she had been searching non stop for anything that gave a hint as to who she was.

One thing that was curious, though, were the results when she typed in 'young girl with black hair and blue eyes.' She hadn't expected anything to pop up, it was really just her getting frustrated. And that was probably the only thing that gave her any help. Multiple stories popped up, she watched different news channels, and just people talking about her in general. Just what had she gotten herself into?

Her whereabouts? That's exactly what she was looking up right now. She was connected to multiple different organizations, and businesses, not to mention her own inventions. She was following a strong lead right now.

"Alice Academy…" she murmured out loud. It was unfortunate that her mother over heard her. "Hotaru, you're not thinking of going to that wretched place, are you?" Her mother asked, horrified.

Staring coldly at the woman who gave birth to her, Hotaru did her best to think of the reasons why she shouldn't just leave. "I'm in the middle of something, mother. If you're so desperate for me to stay, then I'd suggest you stop interrupting my work."

Her mother left the room with a flushed face, unable to come up with a response.

Holding back a sigh, Hotaru turned back to her computer. With that finished, she felt a wave of relief. No thanks to that woman, she had managed to get into the personal files of Alice Academy. Following a trail that lead to the Headmaster, she was able to understand the jist of how that place worked. Everyone reported to The Headmaster, although even she had no idea what his name was.

From the amount of passwords and high security, she was able to guess that this guy was hiding something worth finding. And she could very well be the only person with the abilities to do so.

Everyone was sitting on edge while Mikan prepared to start her story, and even Koko was nervous about hearing everything from her own mouth.

Mikan shivered. The cold air suddenly felt cooler than a few moments ago. She knew that there was no putting it off anymore, and she opened her mouth, finished preparing her story. Suddenly, she heard something.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"What?!" Hotaru exclaimed quietly, shocked out of her emotionless state. Quickly checking that nobody had noticed, she turned back to the computer. What on earth was this?

Crap. That's all she could think at the moment. What she was staring at was literally the worst possible thing she could have imagined. And it had to do with that girl, or 'Mikan' as she now knew was her name. Sweating, she forced herself to continue reading.

'Please, please don't respond… Don't respond…' she prayed relentlessly.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"No…!"

Scrambling to her feet, Mikan slipped a small phone back into her pocket. It was something she always carried with her no matter what.

It was solely for messages between her and the Headmaster. Dashing into the night, she ignored her friend's confused shouts and headed straight for the one place she hated the most.

Did you like it? It has a bit of mystery, eh? Well I hope to see you soon! And would you mud checking out my newest story?

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