Disclaimer: Tachibana Higuchi owns Gakuen Alice – not me.

Chainmail

-;-

"You come to love not by finding the perfect person,

but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly."

You have 35 new incoming mails.

Sakura Mikan stared at her old computer screen. Was it possible for someone to be so persistent? Not only were 33 out of 35 of the new emails spam chainmail sent from none other than her best friend, but also the other two remaining emails had been sent from her raven-haired friend's alternate email address bearing the threatening messages,

Seriously.

Are you really going to erase them?

Think about it for a second.

I recently upgraded my BAKA gun.

So, go ahead. Delete them.

See if I care.

The brunette blinked. She just didn't get it.

Imai Hotaru had to be the most logical, rational, and left-brained person she had ever met, and yet, here she was, the very same cool person, believing in the stupid superficial beliefs being passed on by chainmail only because of last sentences that read something along the lines of, "Something bad will happen to you if you do not send this to 10 or more people." Mikan groaned. Did she really want to risk the wrath of the newly upgraded, and more powerful BAKA gun just for some silly reason like deleting chainmail? After a long, drawn-out sight, she reluctantly started on one of thirty-three chainmail titled:

RE: FWD: RE: RE: FWD: RE: THE PERFECT GUY FOR YOU LOVELY GALS

Mikan couldn't help but wince. "Okay," she breathed in deeply. "Let's get this over with."

-;-

This is really sweet.

When a boy is quiet … millions of things are running through his mind.

When a boy is not arguing … he is thinking very deeply.

When a boy looks at your with eyes full of questions … he is wondering how long you will be around.

When a boy answers, I'm fine, after a few moments … he is not fine at all.

When a boy stares at you … he is wondering why you are lying to him.

When a boy lets you lie on his chest … he is wishing for you to be his forever.

When a boy wants to see you everyday … he wants to be yours forever.

When a boy says, I love you … he really means it.

When a boy says, I miss you … no one in the world can miss you more than him.

…

…

-;-

The chainmail continued on for a good deal longer, but she couldn't help but stop herself.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Muttering softly under her breath, she returned to the homepage and began deleting the colossal amount of chainmail that remained. Wasn't it obvious that there couldn't be a guy so perfectly sweet in this world? Mikan rolled her eyes. Of course, it wasn't as if she herself didn't want her Prince Charming to come dashing into her room at this very moment riding on a white stag to sweep her off her feet and take her to a magical castle. But she was trying to be realistic... Although if she really were expecting a Prince Charming at the moment, then she would prefer that he had dashing looks, a beautiful smile, a soothing voice, would be taller than her so he could take her in his strong arms and hug her, be smart, be strong, be…

Mikan caught herself.

Stop it, Mikan, there isn't a guy like that.

She nodded convincingly to herself before turning her gaze from her now chainmail-free-homepage to the window by her bed stand. For a while, she gazed out at the cherry blossom tree that was swaying gently in the falling rain before suddenly blanching. "What is he doing," she squealed loudly, knocking her chair down abruptly before rushing towards the window to take a better look. "It's pouring out there!"

But that didn't seem to be much of a problem for the crimson-eyed boy outside. In fact, he didn't seem to care about much at the moment. He was standing placidly in the rain, already drenched head-to-toe, staring up at the cherry blossom tree with a mild expression on his face. Then, quite suddenly, he started towards the tree, pulling himself up into the branches and disappearing in between the blossoming buds. She could not help but scowl darkly. "That idiot is going to catch a cold." Grabbing her coat and umbrella furiously, she stomped out the dorm room in hurried steps.

She stared up at him and barked, "Hyuuga Natsume."

He didn't even acknowledge her.

"Hey!" She jumped up and down in anger. "You don't just ignore people like that when you all but know they're down here." She pointed a furious finger at herself. Natsume finally glanced down at her, his brows arched and a smirk playing on his lips. He was definitely enjoying this.

Well, Mikan didn't like that.

She threw her umbrella to the floor before starting her way up the slippery tree. Damn, how was it that he made climbing look so easy? She inwardly cursed her lack of athleticism.

It took a while until she finally reached the branch Natsume was occupying. She paused, eying him warily, before moving towards the branch on the other side of the trunk – from there she would be able to get a clear view of him as well as be able to shout all the curses she wanted at a safe distance. She cleared her throat, wondering how the heck to start this. "So," she drew the word out. "Why are we up here? Why aren't you inside, away from the rain?"

He paused. "I came here to think." Then adding sardonically under his breath, he continued, "At least up until you came."

Think? He came to think in this pouring rain?

He became silent, leaving Mikan to fall into thought.

When a boy is quiet … millions of things are running through his mind.

She wondered what was going on in that mysterious mind of his - maybe he was thinking of his family? Or it could have been his school grades… No, he usually didn't really care about school much. Maybe it were those new fluff puffs flavor that had arrived in Central Town last week. That made perfect sense to her. Even she would have been thinking about those yummy little delights if she were him, because, really, who didn't love fluff puffs? Mikan smacked her lips and then caught herself abruptly as Natsume stared. She quickly made to wipe her drool. Why was it that she always managed to make a fool out of herself? He continued to stare with an intensity that made Mikan squirm in her seat.

When a boy looks at your with eyes full of questions … he is wondering how long you will be around.

He was unnerving her. She pouted in silence.

"It's amusing how three years have passed and you're still the same, Polka." His gaze moved to her flat chest before he raised his brows pointedly at her. She blinked. Then, the next moment she found herself flushing deeply as she furiously made to cover her front. She was starting to regret sitting on the opposite side of the trunk. Mikan was just at the point of swearing profusely with the foulest language she had ever heard before when Natsume jumped off his branch without warning, leaving her alone on the tree top. Alarmed, she looked down.

"W-Wait! Don't leave me!"

She clumsily began to climb down the tree. "How can you just leave me like that after I climbed up that stupid tree because I-" She sneezed loudly, sniffed, and then continued. "I was worried about you." She had gotten to the ground, but Natsume was nowhere to be seen. "Well, if you aren't such an ungrateful little -" She bent down and sneezed again.

ACHOO. ACHOO. ACHOOOOO.

She had caught a cold. Mikan grumbled nonchalantly to herself and kept her body bent, her eyes closed. Deep down, she couldn't help but feel the disappointment wash over her like a tsunami; she was disappointed Natsume hadn't turned out to be anything close to resembling the 'perfect guy' on the chainmail. Not only that, but she was also disappointed that he had just left her standing in the cold rain, and now she was disappointed that a little rain had ended up making her sick too. She had been an idiot believing the stupid chainmail Hotaru had sent her. It was time to return to reality.

She heaved a loud sigh before finally straightening up. At least it seemed like the rain had stopped; she comforted herself with the minor fact, brushing away the wet hair pasted to her face, when she opened her eyes to find Natsume standing in front with her umbrella held high above her. No wonder she had thought the rain had stopped. He silently pushed the umbrella into her hands before turning away, his ear turning slightly pink. Mikan could feel the warmth in her own cheeks rise as she stared open-mouthed at his retreating figure. Then she heard herself shout loudly after him. "I'm already wet, you idiot!" Her own, giddy laughter rang in her ears as she felt a wide smile spread across her face. So what if Natsume hadn't resembled the 'perfect guy' from the chainmail?

He still cared for her in his own special way and that was all that mattered, at least, to her.

~ Nemesis of Truth

Seriously, why can't there be cheesy love stories like this in my life?