DISCLAIMER: I own nothing—definitely nothing. Credits all go to the brains behind Gakuen Alice, Higuchi-san.

NOTE: I had this side story imagined while reading GA chapter 129, 131 and 134 (chapter 129, pages 28-30; chapter 131, pages 13-14; chapter 134, page 22, to be exact (HEHEHE)—head on to MangaFox or MangaStream and check out what I mean), and I couldn't help but notice the lack of Tsubasaki fan fictions here. I've decided to write and post this one-shot. This is my first fan fiction in a long while, and I've only re-ignited my passion for GA, so I hope you guys excuse me. Reviews, love or flames, are both welcome!

Oral Reading by heartvacancy

Tsubasa helped the staggering Tono after their face-off with the Fuukitai. Earlier, they were with Mikan and Ruka, but the three (Tsubasa, Tono and Natsume) decided to hold the enemies off so that Mikan could arrive at the High School building on time. The moonlight was about to hit the keyhole any minute, and they couldn't (and know that they shouldn't) risk her chances of being able to get away from the clasps of the evil elementary school principal.

"Are you alright, Tono?" he worriedly asked, helping Tono up.

"Yeah," Tono replied weakly, his body still adjusting to the Alice Stone Mikan had inserted in him earlier. "It's damn hard using an Alice you're not used to…"

Tsubasa knew how Tono felt—so did Natsume. They, too, had Alice Stones put in them by Mikan. When he was sure he was at a safe distance to do so, Natsume coughed slowly, trying to hide the fact that his body was almost at its limits from his senpais. He was thinking that no one needs another thing to worry about—especially not now, that everything was about to be over.

"More of the enemies are still coming," Tsubasa muttered as Tono balanced himself. "You know, because we don't have Ruka-pyon's barrier anymore."

Tono sighed. "Yeah, I know that. I hope we don't get exhausted too soon," he mumbled, shooting an unknown arrow towards Natsume. The Fire Alice felt guilty that he had to hide the fact that he's already tired. Tsubasa looked at his kouhai thoughtfully—he was somehow sensing that something was up with the raven-haired kid.

"We're all covered with wounds now," Tono mumbled, making Tsubasa realize that a Fuukitai had managed to scratch him deeply on his leg that he had internal bleeding. That dude mustn't have cut his nails for a very long time, he thought, pretty much annoyed. He liked his body unscathed, and he didn't care how much vain that sounded. He just liked his body that way—unwounded.

"—but right now," Tono chirped, "Let's just think that with this, Mikan can successfully escape to the outside."

Tsubasa shot a glance at Natsume, who—obviously—was feeling extremely depressed. He noted that the kid's eyes had lost the glint present whenever the brunette girl was around—he was back to how he looked like before Mikan came into the academy. He seemed dead. He sighed—well, like it's something unavoidable, right? The kid's finally found a girl he was able to fall in love with, and to have her taken away from him like that; it just sounded like some tragic telenovela for the Shadow Controller.

"Let's wipe away the tears of the girls we love and turn it into a smiling face. Right now, we can turn that into our motivation," Tono continued (Tsubasa thought he was done with his little pep talk). He was about to take his friend's advice when he noticed Natsume looking at Tono with the intent of slaying him right then and there—and it clicked.

"YOU GEEZER, WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" the Fire Alice exclaimed, referring to the fact that Tono was fascinated with both Mikan and her mother, Yuka. "From having a Lolitacomplex, you're now going for married women—"

"Huh…?" Tono mumbled. Apparently, he was a bit too slow that day and epiphany hit him after a few seconds. "WHAT?"

Tsubasa shook his head. "You're thinking about those stuff in such a crucial time," he mumbled, clicking his tongue. "You are no more than a beast, after all—"

"NO! I'm pertaining to your girls! Not mine!" Tono exclaimed defensively before pointing an accusing finger at Natsume. "And here I thought you were upset because you were just left behind by the girl you like—" In an instant, flame engulfed Natsume's right hand and he seemed like he was about to burn the Amplification Alice into a crisp. "Whoa, whoa, wait—I SAID WAIT!"

Tsubasa just watched the two and let things settle down between them. When it did (Thank God, it did—I actually thought they were going to last a little bit longer, he thought), Tono looked at him thoughtfully and it caught his attention. "What's up, Tonouchi?" he asked, a little uneasy with the way his friend looked at him.

"Well…" Tono started, unsure of how he was going to bring his topic up. "Uh, well, we're done for the first stage, so…Tsubasa, you go now and save Misaki-chan."

'You go now and save Misaki-chan.' Tono's voice reverberated within Tsbuasa's mind before inwardly cursing himself. How could he forget—the woman he finally admitted to falling in love for was currently behind bars—technically. She, plus some kids from Mikan's class, were caught by the Fuukitai earlier that day, and she hadn't had the chance to find out that he was now back. It actually ached his heart that Misaki wasn't the first one he was able to go to and show himself to upon his arrival.

Then, he snapped back to reality. "Wh-what are you talking about, Tono…really, at a time like this—"

"Tsubasa, if you get reckless just because your mind's somewhere else, and you end up getting hurt…that'll be trouble for us too. You saw how that brat there acted awhile ago, right?" Tono replied, throwing suggestive glances at Natsume, who obviously did not want the comparison he just used. "Well, we were in a hurry, so we didn't have time to cut him off from that—but you get me?"

Tsubasa looked at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing at the moment—indeed, Natsume did things he wouldn't do normally, if it weren't for the situation. Had there been no problems, he wouldn't have conveyed his feelings like that; had there been no circumstance, he would've (Tsubasa bet) hidden his feelings instead of announcing them bravely.

"—we don't know what will happen to us from here on," Tono went on (Tsubasa honestly thought this little pep talk was being a bit too long), "this is your personal affair. If you don't do it—if you don't save Misaki, you might regret it."

Tono's words pierced Tsubasa like some kind of extremely sharp needles—daggers, even; or maybe darts. True, they may never get to see the light of the next morning again; unexpected things might happen to them at that moment. The Shadow Controller slowly became frustrated when he remembered what Megane had told him and the others a few hours ago.

'Megane. Where's Misaki?'

'…'

'?'

'…she got caught during the time of the escape…sometime around when she was assisting the students of Class B and the headquarters. Then I heard some news that students who got caught were being taken and transformed into soldiers by Koizumi Luna's Alice.'

All Tsubasa could hear was snippets of Megane's report—his mind was immediately filled with Misaki's face and how she sounded whenever she called him Tsubasa or idiot. Worry slowly refilled him at a dangerous speed.

What if Misaki had been transformed into one of that Koizumi's minions? (that soul-sucking bitch—erm… he thought aside) What if they end up facing each other on this school that's become a huge battlefield caused by the ESP? How will he be able to live through it if something happened to Misaki without him being able to tell her how he really felt about her?

No, wait, scratch that. Will I be able to live through it if something happened to her, without me by her side! He thought worriedly. His previous thoughts about asking Tono as to why he sent Nodacchi away were immediately overthrown by his thoughts regarding Misaki.

He huffed. Sharply breathing in, he looked at his companions. Natsume felt the change in his aura—it actually surprised him that this goofball is able to produce an aura that's very much like his. It felt like he was set to kill—or maybe something milder. But definitely something like that.

"If I do go, can I expect you boys to deliver?" Tsubasa asked, his fists balled up and ready to dash at the slightest sign of any nod. When Natsume grunted a yes, Tsubasa ran, dashing between them, leaving a pat on Tono's shoulder, and on Natsume's head. "I expect you boys to keep your promises!" he exclaimed as he slowly disappeared into the darkness.

"Misaki-senpai," Yuu mumbled as he and the other elementary kids huddled close to the pink-haired young lady with them in the room. "I'm a bit scared…"

"Yeah," came in one of the kids. "I am, too, senpai…"

"Me too- "

"Same here- " Sumire muttered, looking a tad scared more than she ever did. She'd just gained her consciousness after so long, and it just made the older Alice sad that she had to experience this, first thing after she wakes up.

Everyone crawled nearer to their only pillar, the pink-haired, Doppelganger Alice, Harada Misaki. She had been helping these very children escape a place that was about to become a place of possible bloodbath earlier and it breaks her heart that she failed to save these children before her. The only fact comforting her was that she's there with them, in that very room. She brought everyone in her arms, whispered them assurances that everything will soon be over.

"And when it does, I swear," she mumbled gently, patting a random kid's head, "We're all going to Central, and I will all treat you to Fluff Puffs. Sounds good?" she asked, faking a smile, which the kids seem to have not noticed. She sighed in relief when they all smiled tearfully.

To be honest, she, too, was on the verge of breaking down. First, she had failed to save these innocent children; secondly, she was caught as well. What put the icing on the cake was her worry. She's been extremely anxious ever since her best friend went missing. The school had kept quiet about it and pretended nothing was wrong; they went about their everyday routines, hoping no one would bother asking about the whereabouts of a certain Shadow Controller.

Fortunately for them, no one did ask. Unfortunately, no one asked them. The students kept the questioning to themselves, gathering information on their own. The process was long and tedious, and the information gathered was not much—but it was better than knowing nothing.

Tsubasa, what fuck happened to you? Misaki thought sullenly, as she waited for the children to sleep. She made sure they all slept first before she did—she needed to take care of these children and protect as if they were her own. It was the only compensation (for her failure) she could think of. When she saw the last child had closed his eyes and drifted into peaceful slumber, she gently put Koko, Sumire and Yuu (who were all resting their heads on her lap) onto the ground. After making sure all of them were fast asleep, she hovered around the door, in an attempt to eavesdrop in people's conversations.

'So, what do we do now?' She heard—she assumed the people on the other side were talking about them. She pushed her ear closer to the door, trying to listen some more.

'Well, we're waiting for Koizumi-san to arrive—it's time for them to turn into her little puppets.'

Misaki blinked. Did she hear right? She lifted her ear from the door and turned around; she was standing before the innocent, sleeping children and she felt like breaking down. In a little amount of time, these children will be forced to become robots; these children will be made to work for the ESP's wills and whims; these children will end up battling their own friends on the grounds of the once-peaceful Alice Academy.

She dropped on her knees, expertly concealing the sounds of her sobs. She thought, before all these happened, that crying is a sign of weakness. 'And Harada Misaki is not weak! Not ever! Won't ever!' She recalled herself saying. She pulled her knees close to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she continued to cry silently.

"Tsubasa, I'm scared…" she whispered to herself, although she knew he wouldn't just miraculously appear in front of her just because she wanted him to. She sobbed more at the thought of her best friend.

They've known each other for God knows how many years already—they were literally inseparable. You'd rarely see them without the other. They were like conjoined twins (not literally); both were never present with the other missing. Tono actually call them a married couple, much to her secret pleasure. She knew she was romantically fond of the guy ever since he was able to beat her in a random game she'd forgotten what (purposely or not).

She just didn't want to ruin the friendship they've established over the years; confessing to him would be like throwing that into the dumps. And she knew she wouldn't be able to live without him by her side. Normally, she wouldn't have admitted that to herself—but, hey, she was somehow in a life-and-death situation, so she just let her mind wander into things she wouldn't usually give too much thoughts on.

The way his eyes shrunk a bit when he smiled; the way his laugh sounded. The way his hand felt when woven with hers; the way he tousled his hair when he feels like not wearing his trademark dark green bonnet. Misaki let her mind imagine and recall how he, Andou Tsubasa, looked, smelled and felt like. It wasn't only because she was missing him extremely (hours of waiting turned into days, into weeks), she felt like she'd be able to collect strength from him if she did. She continued recalling how his warm Cinnamon-smelling perfume sent tingles down her spine; how she would inwardly fan-girl whenever he called her name with his extremely alluring voice, with that grin forever plastered on his face.

'Misaki!'

She breathed in as she rose from her sulking. I can't be scared now, she thought. I have to be strong for these children. She positioned herself in between the sleeping children and the door; she planned on protecting these kids with a fight. Even if it costs me my life.

Misaki huffed and puffed, feeling confident. After all, she did send Tsubasa flying high into the air with a kick and a punch combo when he annoyed her too much before. That was fucking six feet high. That time, I gave Tsubasa wings and the ability to fly, she thought, smirking slightly at the pun she just made.

She was occupied with mentally praising herself for coming up with something that she didn't notice the door opening. Two Fuukitai members entered the room and muttered things about how good it was that the children were sleeping. "The work's cut out for us—we can just take them away while they're sleeping," one muttered, and a vein popped in Misaki. She glared at the Fuukitai who just threatened to take away the children in their sleep. She positioned herself in her fighting stance and lunged at the men who dare take away the children's peace. "What the actual fuck—!"

"DON'T YOU DARE MAKE A SOUND THAT'LL MAKE THE CHILDREN WAKE UP, BAKA, IDIOT!" Misaki hissed in a whispered manner; she planned on fighting these burly boys quietly. "I'm going to split you into half if even one of them wakes up!"

She elbowed one on the stomach; she landed a punch on the other's jaw. The two immediately fell down on the cold floor, wincing. She was strong for a woman—too strong. Misaki continued physically assaulting the men with her bare hands, throwing random, heavy punches on the enemies' bodies. She even dared to kick them on the groin when she felt tight grips on her wrists. She whined. "Ouch—!"

She peeked over her shoulders and saw two other Fuukitai members, holding her to prevent her from attacking their comrades. These two were quite stronger than the other two, and Misaki had a hard time escaping their grasps. She tugged and tried kicking them, but to no avail. She slowly felt her energy being drained—she was becoming tired. Sleepless days and nights were finally taking a toll on her. Fuck, she thought. Why now!

She watched as two more Fuukitai members entered the room, and were heading to where the sleeping children were. Her maternal instincts went on overdrive; they were practically screaming for her to get up and protect the children as much as she could, but her body just wouldn't cooperate.

"NOT THE CHILDREN! PLEASE, NOT THE CHILDREN!" She sobbed. She was desperately tugging away from the strong hold of the Fuukitai members, but they just won't budge. She felt all her strength go away, and she entered a state of despair. "No, no, no—!" she shrieked as the Fuukitai touched Kokoroyomi.

"Koko! TSUBASA—!" she exclaimed out of desperation, hoping somehow, he would hear here from wherever he was; hoping he'd come and rescue her, just like old times. The Fuukitai members looked at her, surprised. It was the first time she broke-down.

She wailed loudly, still hoping that he would come. "HELP ME, TSUBASA! TSUBASA!" When no raven-haired boy entered the room, she screamed.

"ANDOU—!"

- x x x x x -

She blinked. She looked at the children, whom she'd woken up with her wails and screams; they were all staring at the door, surprise evident on their little faces. Her tear-stained face turned slowly, the doorway finally entering her vision. There stood a raven-haired young man, whose eyes were strikingly blue. Moonlight softly illuminated his features—and with that curse mark under his left eye visible—she knew he's arrived.

"I said," the young man repeated. Misaki blinked, clearing her vision and gasped. "Did you not hearwhat the lady said?"

"How'd he—" the Fuukitai muttered. "H-how'd he get in here!"

Tsubasa!

"Children, please huddle someplace else," Tsubasa mumbled as he walked into the room. His eyes were locked on the six Fuukitai members, seemingly ready to kill. "I won't ask again after this—did you, or did you nothear what the lady said?"

Koko was still asleep, and the Fuukitai still had a hand on the young child's arm. Tsubasa gave a quick look at the young kid and grinned slightly before glancing at Misaki. His jaw dropped—he averted his vision back to the Fuukitai members present in the room, his eyes screaming I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU AND MAKE YOU WISH YOU NEVER LIVED.

"You made her cry," he hissed, his eyes looking colder by the second. Misaki thought she'd heard otherwise. Shadows slowly engulfed the room as a demonic aura emanated from the Shadow King. He took a step closer as he stepped onto the shadows of the Fuukitai members, putting his Alice into effect. The children stayed as far away from the scene—they couldn't let their shadow anywhere near the infuriated raven-haired Alice.

"Misaki, stand up and go to where the children are," he commanded, and Misaki immediately got up and ran for Koko. She picked the sleeping mind-reader, but the Fuukitai touching Koko grasped her by the wrist and she winced.

"LET—HER—GO!" Tsubasa barked with heavy authority that the Fuukitai had dropped his hand before he could even hurt Misaki more. Misaki sighed and ran to where the frightened kids are. Koko had woken up, obviously surprised.

Tsubasa stepped closer to where the shadows of the Fuukitai met; he went from each Fuukitai to another, fixating them into the most uncomfortable positions he could think of. Sure, it was pretty evil of him to do so, but they—

"—made Misaki cry, so they'll have to pay for the consequences."

Tsubasa's attention ran towards the blonde mind-reader, who was giving him this silly smile like he usually did. A blush slowly crept across his face—he didn't want Misaki to hear his thoughts right now. He grunted as he finished arranging the Fuukitai into what he'd like to call, the "Positions of Death." This brat, he thought as he crouched down to write something on the ground.

"Well, isn't that a pretty lame name," he heard Koko say and Tsubasa bit the inside of his cheek just to stop himself from screaming at the smiling kid, whose seemingly primary purpose in life is to take away what little privacy people have left to them.

"Yosh, alright, you jerks," he muttered, standing up, ignoring the little situation with the mind-reader. The Fuukitai blinked at him before looking down. They all gasped and started screaming—begging Tsubasa to reconsider his punishment. "SHUT UP, POOR LITTLE PIECES OF SH—" he paused; he remembered there were kids around them. "—SHELL! I WON'T RECONSIDER! You'll either have to stay like that forever or someone will have to force me to let you guys go from your situation!"

The Fuukitai members whined in the background as Tsubasa each landed a heavy punch on their heads. When everything appeared to be in control, he stepped towards where the children were. One-by-one, the frightened young Alices all ran up to him, tackling him with hugs and trembling hands. He fell down on the ground, and the children all crawled up to him as they started crying. "He-hey, daijoubu, are you guys okay? Why are you crying?" he asked as he gathered all of them in one big hug.

"Tsubasa-senpaaaaai- "

"Senpai, we were scared!"

"We thought you were dead!"

"We thought we'd never see you again!"

"Misaki-senpai told us you'd be okay, but we were still worried!"

Tsubasa lightly chuckled as he patted each and every kid on the head. "Hey, hey, you should've believed your Misaki-senpai, then. See? I've arrived in one piece," he smiled and the kids just clung onto him tighter. "Anyways, kids, let's do this someplace else—right now, we have to leave this building before anyone finds out what I've done here."

The children looked at him and nodded. Tsubasa slowly stood as he instructed them to make a straight line and link their hands together. "Remember, children—no one is allowed to let go," he said and the children nodded. "You guys head on to this door and take the stairs there. There aren't any enemies there, and if ever there were, you guys can use your Alices against them. I'm sure the Middle School principal and the High School principal are now aware of where I am and what I did—those two always seem to find out things around this place pretty quickly, and I'll bet they've casted a protective barrier around you now. So, follow my instructions, alright? And make as little noise as possible," he added, stealing a sneaky glance at Sumire, who fortunately didn't seem to notice. "Okay? Keep low and keep quiet. Don't speak if it's not needed. Never let go of each other's hands, alright? Go, and we'll follow!"

The children all rushed out of the door silently, much to Tsubasa's relief. He sighed as he now turned around to look at his partner. She was on the ground, looking at him as if she'd just seen a ghost. He walked over to her and knelt before her, taking out a piece of paper out of her pink tresses. Misaki blinked at him, waiting for him to say something. He knew she was waiting—she was looking at him expectantly. He sighed—he was never really good at starting this kind of conversation—

"I'm sorry." He looked at his left and saw Koko was standing idly. The kid had just voiced out his thoughts again. He felt like landing a light punch on his head, just so he could knock him out and prevent him from using his Alice.

And besides, what was he doing here, hanging around? "Koko, didn't I tell you guys to leave immediately? And I'd like my thoughts kept in private, in case you were wondering—"

Then, he had an idea. He slowly smirked as he signaled Koko to come close to him, which the young Alice did unhesitatingly (seeing that he has already read what was on Tsubasa's mind). He settled the mind-reader in front of him, and the pink-haired lady threw him a questioning look. Tsubasa just smiled at her as he tapped Koko's shoulders, ushering him to go on. Koko was more than willing to—he rarely had the chance to use his Alice freely, without anyone threatening to burn him into a crisp.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," he said monotonously, voicing out Tsubasa's thoughts, relaying them to Misaki. She'd just understood what was going on. "I actually didn't mean to worry you like that—believe me, I promised myself that you'll be the first person I show myself to when I got back, but the situation didn't even give me that as an option—I had to be with Mikan."

Misaki blinked as Koko went on announcing Tsubasa's thoughts. "When Megane told me you had been caught, I felt frustrated for the first time today. I was torn between my kouhai and the most important person in my life—whoa, Tsubasa-senpai, that's a bit cheesy, why the hell would you call Misaki-senpai that way in your mind—"

Tsubasa blushed as he lightly hit Koko upside the head. "TO HELL WITH IT! DON'T RUIN THE MOMENT, JUST CONTINUE ON WITH MY THOUGHTS!"

"—and I didn't know whom to go to," Koko went on. "At first, I thought I'd go with Mikan, because I'm sure as hell that you are strong enough to take care of your own. But at the back of my head, I was still worried—you still are a woman after all. And women have the tendency to break down and cry whenever everything feels so hopeless, or whenever they're tired. And I was sure you were feeling both, so when Tono told me I could go and rescue you, I had a moment's hesitation before I decided that I will."

"Tsubasa…" Misaki muttered after Koko spoke in behalf of the Shadow King. She watched as he moved Koko beside him.

"I'm sorry for making you worried," Tsubasa finally said on his own whilst patting Koko on the head like he was some kind of obedient pet. "I'm sorry if I wasn't able to come back earlier, too. This wouldn't have happened—you wouldn't have cried like this," he added, lifting a hand and placing it on Misaki's tear-streaked face.

"Tsubasa…"

"But don't worry," the raven-haired Alice grinned sheepishly. "I'm here now, and I swear I will protect you and the children with all that I've got—with all my life. You won't be alone now; I'll be here for you. And I won't ever leave your side again—"

"Tsubasa—"

"—because I'm sure it will kill me if I do," Tsubasa said with finality in his tone (and a blush slowly creeping across his face) and Misaki's emotions just flooded out. She flung her arms around Tsubasa's neck and snuggled her face into the crook between his neck and his shoulders. She sobbed madly, her hands traveling down his back and gripping on his uniform tightly. She was trembling, and Tsubasa knew she was scared. "There, there, I'm here now! No need for your uncontrollable waterworks," he whispered into Misaki's ear, comforting her.

"I thought the Academy didn't care about you enough that they didn't mind that you went missing for days!" Misaki wailed. "I thought I'd never be able to hear you laugh or see you smile—I thought I'd never see you again!"

Tsubasa rubbed her back comfortingly as he allowed her to let everything out. "I was so scared Tsubasa—so scared! I didn't know what to do when the Fuukitai entered—I didn't know how to save them! I'm so glad you came!"

The Shadow Controller sighed as he brought her closer to his body, feeling the need for it. His grip around her waist tightened as he inhaled her familiar Vanilla scent. She'd always smelled so sweet—so lovely, so comforting, and Tsubasa felt like he went to the right place and did the right thing after all. He rested his forehead on her shoulders, fighting the tears that were starting to form in his eyes. It's been a while since he last held Misaki like this. He was so engulfed in the moment that Koko didn't seem to exist around them, until—

"I love y—" the mind-reader relayed, but Tsubasa swiftly put a hand over the child's mouth.

"That's as far as you go."

I hope you guys liked it! Review, please? \(* u *\)
- hv