Natsume Hyūga

nihongo|Natsume Hyūga|日向 棗|Hyūga Natsume is a fictional character from the manga and anime series "Alice Academy".

Background

Natsume Hyūga is the top student of the Elementary Division. He is feared and hated by a lot of students, even saying that he is a murderer. He is also very popular with the girls and he even has his own fan club, much to his dismay. He first arrived at the Academy at the age of 8, along with his childhood friend, Ruka. However, his past remains veiled in the anime.

In the manga, through Ruka's narration, however, his sister, Aoi, who had the same fire Alice, caused the fire that burned the entire village, but he took the blame for her. His father got injured in this incident, but not seriously. After the incident that happened in the Hana Princess Arc, Natsume managed to save Aoi, but came out with a badly injured Mikan. With the help of his friends, Aoi was sent back to their father.

He is a genius (because of his Alice), but he ditches class frequently throughout the story. He is thoroughly unhappy with the school, and is suspicious of the intentions of adults. It seems that he is involved in top secret missions for the Academy. He is paired up as Mikan's "partner" by the their mostly-absent class teacher, Narumi. However, Natsume is later forced to partner with Luna.

Throughout the story, he constantly suffers from conscience pangs, and seems to be in a dilemma, concerning the danger he puts people close to him in. Persona seems to threaten to harm his friends, and his sister. But later on, she left the Academy together with her father, who is kept captive by the man, if he neglects his duty of using his Alice for the Academy's business or political purposes.

According to Ruka, before Mikan entered the Academy, Natsume never smiled before, but after her arrival, Natsume became more open to everyone and started to smile more.

In the beginning, all of students in Class B listened and followed Natsume's orders. However, now that students have realized what Luna has done and that Natsume is grouped with her, they listen and admire Mikan and no longer seem to like Natsume as much."Alice Academy" Manga Chapter 89]

Character

Generally, moody and silent, but seems to have softened only to Mikan, as well as Ruka. He also has feelings for Mikan, which become more and more apparent as time passes. Mikan, however, is more or less oblivious to his affection.

He is also a pervert, which was proven in both the anime and manga. In chapter 2 of the manga, Natsume actually took off Mikan's polka-dotted underwear and started calling her "polka-dots" because of that. In episode 16 of the anime (chapter 19 in the manga), he pulled out Mikan's bra and stated that, "I thought there should be mountains in here, but all I see are flatlands." Another encounter was during the Alice Festival where Natsume, Mikan, and Ruka visited the Haunted House of the Latent Ability Class.

In the anime, Natsume saw Mikan's panties when they were trapped in a closed room, while in the manga, however, Natsume flipped Mikan's skirt. There's also chapter 34, where he, Mikan, and Ruka had grown into their 15-year-old bodies with the Gulliver's Candy. He held Mikan's breasts, and said that they had not grown, much to Mikan's chagrin.

Aside from being a pervert, he also has another goofy point. He has a big weakness in playing the saxophone (or probably any other musical instruments). He tried blowing into the instrument, but he produced a really weird sound and sort of died away."Alice Academy" Manga Chapter 74]

He gets easily jealous whenever he sees Mikan getting too close with other guys like Tsubasa, Tono, and Narumi-sensei. He makes attempts to get Mikan away from them. For an instance, when Narumi carried Mikan in chapter 71 of the manga, Natsume suddenly kicked the teacher to drop her. And, earlier in the story, when Tono picked up Mikan, Natsume stepped on his foot. Also, he threw an eraser at Mikan's head, (or an apple for the anime) to stop her from kissing Ruka in a play. In chapter 34, Natsume gets irritated when Mikan called out for Tsubasa-senpai to save her from the antigravity field. He is very possessive.

Unlike his Alice, he is cool, calm and collected. He may appear cold and ruthless, but he actually has a caring side. Deep down, Natsume doesn't like hurting people and seeing people getting hurt. To protect those he care about, Natsume is willing to be the 'bad guy' or lie. A prominent example is how he saved his sister by saying he started the fire that burnt their village. There was also another incident where Mikan was thrown to the ground and Natsume's anger flared and had bombed a crate of explosives to show how angry he was. He screamed the word 'bastard' to the man who threw Mikan to the floor. Only those close to Natsume seem to see through his actions, meaning Ruka, and later, Mikan.

Relationships

Mikan Sakura

Natsume hated Mikan at first, because she always smiles despite of the bad things happening to her. Undeniably, he has grown to like Mikan. This is evident when he throws an apple at Mikan's head on the stage (blackboard eraser in the manga), in a fit of jealousy when she was about to kiss Ruka for the play.

Natsume once burnt Mikan's hair after asking what his class would be doing for the school festival. He also saw her panties three times. The first time was when they met each other. The second time was when they were in the dark together. The third time was when he and a group of students were talking with her closely.

She is the only girl that he calls by first name. Mikan, in the manga, later makes an Alice stone which she gives to Natsume, because she hopes it will help him with his Alice. In return, Natsume secretly gives her his Alice Stone. There is a rumor that, when you exchange Alice Stone you are supposed to be soul mates. In chapter 49 and 50 in the manga, during the Christmas Party, she got kissed by Natsume on the lips twice, the first one being an accident that embarrassed her and that she refused to acknowledge it as a kiss. The second kiss on the Christmas party was after she cleaned up and went up a tree to clear her mind. But Natsume was on the tree. After much bickering on their kiss, Natsume kissed her for real to make it count, and left her in a state of shock.

At the start of the Hana Princess Arc (Chapter 54 to 55), because Tsubasa accidentally placed a special ingredient in the food, Natsume and Mikan got stuck together, while Hotaru got stuck with Yōichi and Ruka. Tsubasa stated that the effect wears off in 1 hour, but that didn't seem to be the case with Hotaru, Yōichi, and Ruka who were still stuck with one another. About an hour later, Mikan and Natsume were finally able to separate, but Natsume suddenly grabbed her hand and refused to let go. He glared at Mikan in such a frightening way so that she was afraid of telling the others. When the others asked if they could separate, Natsume quickly replied before Mikan that they were still stuck together. Because of that, Mikan was forced to sleep with him in his room. During that time, Natsume hugged Mikan in bed saying, "Shut up. Be still. When tomorrow ends, I'll give you back to Ruka right away." (referring to when she said, "I like Ruka", however she didn't mean it in any other way than friendship.) However, when they awoke Mikan was hugging Natsume.

Natsume also shows his fondness for Mikan when he finds himself alone with her at a pond in the warp-hole location. He splashes Mikan after their conversation, and both of them eventually get soaking wet. Natsume then asks her if she is going to leave her hair up for the next five years, and then states "Leave it down, it looks better that way."

After his sister was saved, the others thought Natsume would leave the Academy with her. However, he remained in the Academy because he wanted to protect Mikan, since she was still targeted by the Academy.

When Luna wanted to sit beside Natsume, she coughs viciously, so Mikan gets up to let her seat. But Natsume pulls her arm and said, "What are you doing? I'm the one that gets to decide who sits besides me. So Mikan, stay here." Everyone is surprised at what Natsume said, but then Luna coughs out blood, so Natsume had no choice but to let Luna sit next to him.

Natsume, wearing someone else Alice mask, accidentally became a participant in an item-borrowing race. Participants get a slip with a human ('annoying colleague or 'high ranking shortie'), or an object, must run to the finish line with that person/object, at which point what they were searching for will be displayed in fireworks. Natsume, still masked, pulls Mikan away and runs with her. As the fireworks display 'Someone I love', he runs, returning the mask, and disappearing into the forest. While only seen from behind, both Mikan and Ruka think he is Natsume. It has been made clear by the announcer that this was a confession of love.

However, in the next chapter Luna lies to Mikan saying that Natsume was watching the race with her the whole time, but Mikan still has a slight suspicion. But she was also worried that Luna might be telling the truth.

In chapter 86, Natsume said some cruel things about Mikan (under Luna's orders) when she was watching from a tree. Mikan was horrified and fled, desperately trying not to cry. Natsume walks away from the shocked onlookers (mainly Ruka and Sumire). Once in the forest, he happens to pass by the guy who owns the mask he took. Natsume notices Mikan running on the path nearby and takes the boy's mask once again. Mikan (who by this point was crying) gets hugged from behind by Natsume while Mikan is surprised and becomes positive that it's Natsume. Natsume leaves, and Mikan crumples to the ground and when she looked behind her, Natsume was already gone. Mikan realizes what kind of situation Natsume is in ("Earlier, when Natsume hugged me, his hands felt hot, filled with regret, shaking a little.") and says that she will wait for him.

The students that used to obey Natsume now follow and admire Mikan, but Mikan defends Natsume. Mikan couldn't shake the feeling that Natsume would be going somewhere far away.

After people switched bodies a multiple of times due to some students playing a prank, Mikan saw "Natsume" on a bench. Believing that Mr. Bear was inhabiting his body, she handcuffed him to herself and tried to drag him to where everybody was, but "Natsume" refused to go. Then Mikan sat down and started talk to Mr. Bear saying, "You are just like Natsume, having the same mean look, quiet and bad feeling, violent and frustrating." Natsume looked like he was going to hit her, but then she said "And the part where I have no clue what you're thinking is also the same. You two are so complicated. Recently, I can't help thinking he likes me, seriously ... I mean "WHAT IS WITH HIM?" It's so complicated that I don't ... that I don't understand at all. I thought that I was hated, but I don't know anymore." Natsume took her hand and she realized that it was not Mr. Bear she was talking to, but the true Natsume. The cuffs broke and Natsume walked away with Mikan asking "You wouldn't go somewhere and leave me behind, right?" Natsume stopped, and then said that he will not and walked away.

He was also in the hospital in chapter 92, and overheard Mikan's conversation with Narumi-sensei, so he knows that Mikan has the Stealing Alice, but he won't tell anyone. He seems to be protecting her.

In chapter 95, after coming back from the mission, Natsume climbs into Mikan's room by the window. Mikan rushes over to him, worried and was asking where he had been. He states that he had a feeling that Mikan was crying in her room, so he came there. Soon, he hugged her, close to him. Natsume comforts Mikan and tells her not to cry about Tsubasa. Mikan responds saying that it is wrong not to cry and that she's also crying for Natsume. After that, Natsume runs off promising to find Tsubasa, for the sake of her happiness.

During Chapter 97, after Mikan was captured and taken to the Elementary Principal's office, before Luna could do anything to Mikan, her hair caught on fire, and Mikan fell to the floor near the person responsible. Natsume then states that the woman he loved was being pulled into the darkness as he was, and he didn't want that to happen, making Mikan in a state of shock. After that, Mikan and Natsume run off together with Narumi to escape the academy. By Chapter 98, it is clearly shown, to Mikan, that Natsume loves her.

In Chapter 98, while running, Natsume stops all of a sudden & says that right now he wants to become an adult and run away with her forever. To his surprise, Mikan said "Me too." Mikan then, thought to herself that she never wants to let go of his hand.

At chapter 99, Mikan, Natsume, Hotaru and Ruka finally gathering together at the High School Principal (HSP) 's Office after Mikan, Natsume and Hotaru transported from Hana Hime Den. During that time, the Middle School Principal told Mikan to deliver her regrets to Mikan's mother. Finally, the HSP told the truth to everyone. First, he is Mikan's uncle (his father's big brother), then, he said that Mikan's mother is Yuka Azumi. He also told her that Gakuen Alice isn't a very safe place for her now, so she should run away with her mother, but she refused. Natsume also want to see how good Mikan's mother so she could take care of Mikan Ruka also added that Mikan should know about her past first. So, the HSP told Noda-sensei to show Mikan to the past, but he only can bring 4 people with him. At this time, Narumi is opening a (some kinda) wardrobe (which Mikan's mother is inside it)

Ruka Nogi

Natsume is a good friend to Ruka, and even though he has feelings for Mikan, he still gives way for his best friend to her. At the start of the series, he is seen only to interact with Ruka. After Mikan comes to the academy, he slowly begins to open up to other people. He gets jealous when Mikan is with Ruka, as evident during the play where Mikan almost kissed Ruka he threw the apple (Black board eraser in the Manga) to prevent her from kissing him. But it seems that Ruka is becoming more competitive in fighting for Mikan's love. During a blackout, after Mikan, Ruka, and Natsume were grouped together, Natsume and Ruka held Mikan's hand, worried about her. They then noticed each other holding her hand and laughed, Ruka stating, "I won't lose." To this, Natsume smirked and said, "I was never intending to win in the first place."

He is protective of Ruka, as shown when he got angry at Mikan when he thought she tricked Ruka to go to the Northern Woods during her challenge. Ruka's personality is a complete opposite of Natsume's; while Natsume is cold, Ruka possesses a warm and gentle heart.

Ruka gave Natsume an hourglass for his birthday, saying "If only we could turn back time." Natsume dubbed this his favorite present along with Yōichi's drawing. Ruka and Natsume actually knew each other from before coming to the Alice Academy as the latter transferred to Ruka's school. He was also the first 'real' friend Natsume made and didn't want to leave behind.

In chapter 90 Natsume's soul switches into Ruka's body due to a prank pulled by some students (his own body was being inhabited by Iinchou). In the manga ruka kisses mikan when they are at the christmas party.

Others

His younger sister is Aoi, and she is the primary reason why Natsume does what Persona says. His personality is total opposite of Aoi, but he cares for her deeply. He is used to hitting Aoi on the head whenever she says something stupid or acts like an idiot.

He doesn't get along well with the other students of the Dangerous Ability Class. He is referred to as "Obaka-chan", meaning stupid, and he's greatly detested by the Dangerous Ability students except for Nobara."Alice Academy" Manga Chapter 59] He also harbors deep hatred for Persona, the Dangerous Ability moderator. He also finds guys like Tsubasa and Narumi annoying, and he gets jealous whenever he thinks that they are flirting with Mikan.

Natsume and Tsubasa have gotten closer as the older student has watched over Mikan and her friends on various adventures. Particular mentions is the search for Z members where Tsubasa, albeit forcefully, took care of Natsume when his body was reaching its limit. Recently, the two have been seen working on the same mission since Tsubasa was moved from the Special class to the Dangerous Alice class.

Alice

Natsume possesses the Alice of Fire, and is classified into the Dangerous Ability type. Unfortunately, due to frequent use of his Alice, Natsume suffers from a physical illness. Though neither the manga nor the anime have confirmed this, many viewers and readers believe that Natsume's Alice is of the life-draining category - that is to say, using his Alice drains him and shortens his lifespan.

He wears two control devices in his ears, which controls his Alice. He is also seen wearing a Black Cat Mask, another control device that is usually used for punishments. This mask can send electric shocks to stop the user from using his Alice. Despite this, Natsume can still use his Alice because it is too strong; Narumi once said that if Natsume really put his mind to it, the mask would not stand a chance against his outrageous pyrotechnic strength.

References

ee also

*List of Alice Academy characters
*Alice Academy