6A/N: This is a first Gakuen Alice oneshot. I hope you enjoy it!
Summary: Mikan went off on her own to think about a different love she had for one person. It felt like a tingling sensation, like a butterfly coming out of its chrysalis. She was ready to fly away from her problems, but that wasn't the case if those problems were answered. NatsumexMikan
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GAKUEN ALICE! ITS LISCENCED BY TOKYOPOP AND THE RIGHTFUL OWNER IS TACHIBANA HIGUCHI. I DO NOT OWN IT.
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Flying Away
By: Haru Cherry
Beta: HatefulShinobi- Thank you very much!
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The sun shone a bright reflection in the cool fresh waters of the crystal lake. A smooth lime green field was there, filled with tiny patches of dandelions and daisies. The wind blew gently, disturbing the stillness of the foliage of trees. Landing on a lonely daisy, a tiger swallowtail butterfly flew down to rest. Its beautiful gold wings fluttered slowly, showing its stunning patterned wings. It hoped that nothing could disturb the peaceful tranquility of being alone.
Alone…
Was that the answer to flying away from a vast land?
The butterfly sure have journeyed long and hard to find this sensational place, just to be free.
However, it was feeling different. The butterfly abandoned its friends that fluttered together. It had no idea why. The tiger swallowtail that landed on the daisy just now, was one of the most breathtaking butterflies that flew away from its friends.
But…
Was it happy being free?
The butterfly felt a nearby presence. Acting quickly, the gold insect flew off to a different area of the field.
Far off in the distance, a little girl walked slowly toward the field, not knowing what to do. She was completely bored; a dull expression on her face. Her long, honey brown hair was down to her back, a change from her usual pigtails. She wore a springtime white hat, covering her hazel eyes away from the sun and a white and pink polka-dotted dress that reached her ankles. The little girl went down on her knees, picking a daisy with her white gloved hand. She closed her eyes, enjoying the silence around her.
Sakura Mikan was a cheerful girl, however there were times when she wanted to get away from the Alice Academy. The academy was a hard place to adapt to, but now that she was used to it, she was glad to be here, with her best friend Hotaru, of course. This little place was far away from the academy, not exactly escaping it, otherwise, she would be tracked down by her ID card. Not that anyone would track her down at this moment, right? Unless they were wondering where she would be at a time like this.
To her, this was a very sacred place. This was where she would take time for herself and herself only. She found it not too long ago, when she was around the cherry blossom trees along a pathway, but going way deeper.
'Jii-chan…' She thought to herself, 'I hope you can hear me. I like this academy a whole lot. But for some reason…I like this secret place I found, too.'
Wanting to rest for a bit, she lied down on the grass, gazing up at the clear blue sky. Today was a day off for the students. Every one of Mikan's friends wanted to hang out today at Central Town. Main reason? To spend rabbits; the currency of the school. Her friends such as Anna and Nonoka, would know that Mikan would like to spend some rabbits on Hawalon, a special fluffy treat. Mikan went with them, but sneaked away when they weren't looking.
Something was on her mind.
OOOONMOOOO
Earlier in town, Hyuuga Natsume was with his friend Ruka. He didn't really want to do anything today, but because Ruka had to do some errands, he didn't mind coming along. He was bored as hell since he took a break from reading his books.
"Natsume, I'll be at the pet store, okay?"
Natsume nodded, aware about Ruka's obsession and Alice ability for animals, "I'll be around."
Watching his friend disappear to the pet store, the crimson eyed boy was left alone with nothing to do. He eyed spectators in the town, seeing enjoyment on their faces during their time hanging out.
"Natsume," He turned around to see Hotaru with a emotionless look on her face, quite similar to his, "have you seen Mikan anywhere?"
Natsume scoffed, "Do you think I have an answer to a question like that?"
Not being taken back at the sudden retort, Hotaru shrugged her shoulders, "Just wondering. When I wasn't looking, she disappeared."
"The girl gets lost. You should know that by now." The boy said with a careless tone.
Hotaru sighed, "It can't be helped. She's such an idiot. Ja ne." The short haired girl went off to look around Central Town once more. Once the figure was gone, Natsume was back to square one again; NOTHING to do. His eyes cast around and he couldn't help but glance at the entryway, seeing a young girl running swiftly, bumping into others.
"Watch where you're going!" The girl who had been bumped was Sumire, but the girl did not reply and went off again.
"Mou…that Sakura girl never says sorry to the royalty. She must be too ashamed." Sumire said snobbishly. The two girls who accompanied her agreed.
'Sakura?' Natsume could barely recognize her with those type of clothes on today. Usually, everyone was wearing their school uniform. Why was she wearing that get-up? Curiosity had gotten to him, yet he was astonished when his feet moved on their own, following the same path as Mikan. He wished he had another Alice to control himself other than his fire abilities. This was so not planned out.
OOOONMOOOO
'Jii-chan…what is it like to love?'
Mikan opened up her eyes. She sat up as the breeze tickled her face, 'Strange question I know…'
Mikan knew that her Jii-chan wouldn't be happy if she didn't know the definition of love. That would be totally ridiculous. This was a different case. She was experiencing something else for the first time. Sneaking off and bumping into Sumire was kind of a jumbled moment for her, but she totally ignored and went to this place on her own.
'I know I like Hotaru a lot. No, MORE than a lot. But…is there another love to have?'
The love that Mikan was thinking about was with a different person. Out of all the people she knew, 100 percent she loved, but this was a complicated and confusing love for one particular person.
'Why am I thinking like this?!' Completely getting frustrated, she scratched her head with both hands, 'Sorry for talking like this, Jii-chan.'
In her mind, she thought she was hopeless.
OOOONMOOOO
Natsume continued walking through the pathway of cherry blossom trees. He knew the girl he believed would be Mikan passed by around here.
'But where?' Natsume stopped. Why was he doing this in the first place? 'I haven't seen that noisy girl for a while. She's been oddly quiet around me.'
He was clueless right now. Gazing upat a gap from the cherry trees, he found himself walking towards it. A line of bushes was covering another side, which he never knew about. He never went that deep within the sweet looking trees of pink and white.
With many struggles passing through the foliage, he found himself looking at a field. He wondered, why was there an open field he never knew? He had been in this academy long enough to know most of everything around here. But he decided to make haste and glance around. The wide ranged field was fairly quiet, mixed with chirps of robins and currents from the lake. Natsume had a feeling that someone or something was around here, so he must be cautious. That completely changed when he saw the same girl who ran off from Central Town, watching the serene nature around her dazing off in her own world.
'So this is where she went.' The aloof boy was slick as his secret identity, the 'Kuro Neko.' He stood behind her looking stiff and silent, not knowing what to do. He had no choice but to say something.
"Oi, polka-dots."
The reaction from the girl was still the same. She was officially not paying attention to reality, like she was in her own tiny dimension. Natsume gazed at her different look. She appeared to be appealing in his tastes. He shook his head, wondering why he thought about it.
He said louder, "Hey, polka-dots!"
The second time worked when the girl turned around with her eyes casting down on the grass, "Polka-dots? Excuse me?"
Natsume frowned, "Don't act dumb. I know it's you, so why don't you explain yourself?"
Mikan gazed her eyes upon the boy, showing nothing but an emotionless face, "What do you mean?"
"Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?"
"Because I want to." Mikan cocked her head to the side, "Is that a problem?"
"Yes, it is a problem." Natsume was loosing his patience.
However, Mikan didn't cooperate, "Aren't I always like this?"
Natsume felt something literally snap inside of him. Without hesitation, he grabbed a hold of both her shoulders and roughly slammed her down on the ground, her hat off her head after that.
Mikan was shocked and not amused at all, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"You won't answer my question, dummy! And you are NEVER like this. You shouldn't be like this."
"Why do you care anyway?! You have no right to tell me what to do!" Mikan was fumed with anger.
"I'm doing it because you act like such a kid…" Natsume trailed off. He was heating up like his own Alice.
Mikan tried to stay cool and waited, "Well? Aren't we kids still?"
Natsume's grip on her shoulders loosened and he lowered his head. Mikan didn't know where this was going, yet there was something floating in her head that she wanted to say to him.
"Natsume…"
"What?" He said coldly. He took his hands off her shoulders, giving her comfort zone back. Mikan bit her lip nervously and asked an out of the blue question,
"…W-What do you think others think about me?"
The Black Cat didn't know how to reply to such a question, "Think about you? What is there to think about? You shouldn't listen to others if you do not believe on what they say."
Mikan whispered and a frown replaced her smallest smile possibly, "Nothing…I was just…thinking too much…"
Natsume sighed, "You're so confusing polka-dots, you know that?" He said in a forceful tone, yet saw a yellow butterfly flying on top of a flower. Mikan, while holding the daisy still, twirled it around a few times.
"I've been thinking too much about happiness. But it's not the same...feeling I have with Hotaru and others. This 'feeling'…is different. I've never experienced this type of thing before.
"It deals with one person and one person only. I want to know how that person feels for me. What do they think of me as a person? Do they like me for me? Or are they separating themselves from me and not saying anything until the time is right? I want to know…I want to know…"
Why was Mikan saying so many strange things, Natsume thought. He had no idea how to comply to this, so he just said what he had to say to give an answer.
"…You are a loyal person."
Mikan's eyes widened and saw Natsume lifting the butterfly with the tip of his finger, "You care for others, you tend to act stupid in front of everyone, yet you replace it with a goofy smile in return. You are kind and respectful, no matter how hard you want to smack them in the face if they make you angry," Natsume scoffed, "Although…that's my opinion for you."
"Natsume…" The butterfly flew off as Natsume raised his hand higher, letting it take more air.
"I'm not finished. Mikan," Mikan was taken back, she had only heard Natsume say her name during rare times, such as this, "I want to help you."
"W-Why are you saying this right now?" Mikan was about to get upset. She couldn't comprehend why she was getting upset over some unreasonable conversation with him. But talking to him made her feel more open every time she would ask for her problems to be solved. Running to Tsubasa-senpai or Narumi-sensei would be way better than this!
"Why do you care that much for someone like me? Someone who is opposite to you? WHAT AM I TO YOU?"
Without warning, Natsume embraced her softly, giving the girl a shock from that action, "We have something in common, you know. Protecting everyone we care deeply for."
Mikan froze to death. Here was Natsume, hugging her. Hugging her? It must be a dream-no wait, a terrible nightmare. She imagined herself pinching her arm, and that it wouldn't hurt because it was her imagination. However, she could feel his arms wrapped around her.
'It's real...' She chuckled as tears flowed in her pale cheeks, 'He's so warm…'
"Mikan…don't fly. Don't run away from me any longer." His embrace got tighter, "You protect me and I'll do the same in return. Remember that."
That tore it. Mikan sobbed loudly, her emotions happy and sorrow were mixed with her rainy tears. Every question in her head disappeared, all her problems bursting out in one exact moment. Natsume, the cold hidden shell, opened up like a present full of excitement and bewilderment.
'When I'm with you, I feel confident. When I'm with you, I feel open. When I'm with you, confusion takes over. When I'm with you…I'm just plain happy to know you!'
'Thank you…Natsume.' Mikan thanked him in her mind. The embrace loosened, but he didn't want to let go.
"Was that person…" Natsume questioned.
Mikan nodded immediately, a cheerful smile formed in her lips, "You are-"
"Hn. I'm always a problem for you." He showed an arrogant face. Mikan laughed loudly and freely on her own. Natsume showed a hidden smirk in return.
OOOONMOOOO
As the tiger swallowtail flew away from the little boy and girl, it couldn't help but think about what it did.
Was turning away from the crowd pointless?
Was there a certain mate waiting for her in the distance?
The swallowtail flew high in the air, hoping and believing that things would turn out right.
The butterfly flew away, out of the open field, with hopes and happiness to come.
Just like Mikan and Natsume.
No matter how much they bickered with each other,
No matter how much of a pervert Natsume was,
No matter how clumsy Mikan was,
Those two would fly away together in the heavens forever...
After all, partners need to stick together once in a while.
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-Haru Cherry
A/N: Eh...what do you think?