Hello! This is my very first fan fiction.....hope you like it.....oh, and please review.....^_^

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gakuen Alice nor its characters, but I DO own this story

Forever, Always

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Chapter I

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!!! The Plan !!!

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In the dark of night, when the full moon was shining brightly over the quiet academy, when stars were scattered across the vast sky, when the owls were hooting cheerfully, when students were sleeping peacefully in their own rooms, a boy was limping among the trees not far from his dorm. He has dark short hair, piercing red eyes and his body was full of scars. Then, the dorm's main door creaked open and a blond boy appeared. He saw his wounded friend and rushed to him.

"Natsume!" gasped the blond boy.

"Ruka, does anyone know?" asked Natsume.

"I don't think so," said Ruka.

"No one saw you?"

"No," answered Ruka. "What happened, Natsume? What went wrong?"

"The security is tighter than I thought," he said. He gasped as he fell down on his knees. He covered his mouth and coughed blood. Lately, his body was becoming weaker and weaker. The blood spilt on his palm increased day by day. He went in and out of the hospital more often than before.

Ruka sat beside him, horrified, and placed his shaking hands on Natsume's shoulders. "You have to stop these, Natsume," he said to his best friend. "Look at you! You have become weaker. You can't risk anymore of your life to just be hurt as you try to escape and only to turn back here. You cannot see her that way. Though no one knows, the elementary school principal probably does and maybe Narumi-sensei too."

"But we don't know if she's safe or not," said Natsume, still panting from his trial of breaking through the barrier around the academy.

"I'm sure she's safe," said an unexpected voice coming from behind them. The new comer appeared from behind the trees. He has medium-length blond hair and he was wearing a white t-shirt with dark trousers. His eyes were sharp and seemed to pierce through both boys' heart. He turned his head to face the dark sky as he added, "I'm sure that if she is with Yuka-senpai, she'll be OK!"

"Why should I trust you?" asked Natsume coldly.

"Because I know Yuka-senpai once, and I'm sure she is still the same person who loved others and would do anything to protect them, especially her own child, and I wouldn't lie even for a moment if it concerned Mikan-chan," said Narumi. Then he fixed his gaze on Natsume. "You should stop this Natsume-kun. Playing around at night, getting hurt by the security, and finally turning back here and going into the hospital. He knows about your plan. That is why he has put electric barriers around the school–"

"Then why don't he let me go to her?" snapped Natsume. "He might find them easier."

"He doesn't want anymore of his students to leave the academy like those two did. So do not get your hopes up, because I am sure that he will not let you pass his sight," Narumi said firmly. "Now, if please Ruka-kun, take Natsume to the hospital. He would have his wounds tend first. After that, go back to your rooms. We don't want him to know what we have been talking about, right."

Narumi walked away. Ruka helped Natsume to stand up and they walked toward the hospital. It was dark and quiet, and they walked in silence. The only sound they could hear was the sound of their footsteps, Natsume's harsh breathing, and some occasional hooting from the owls or the whistle of the wind.

"Why didn't you use Sakura's Alice Stone? You could pass the security with that," asked Ruka quietly.

"There will be more dangerous times when I need it more than now."

"Then what are you going to do? Do you still want to do this? Maybe Naru is right. Maybe Sakura is safe with her mother."

"I know that, but we can't be sure. I just want to make sure she's all right."

They were silent again. "Then … then how about we use that?" suggested Ruka several moments later.

"That?" Natsume said, looking at his friend disbelievingly. He expected Ruka to crack with some joke now, but since his eyes were focused on the hospital wing that was already in sight, and they seemed serious when he said it, Natsume was sure that Ruka wasn't joking. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. If you use that, no one will know, especially the elementary school principal. He definitely won't know. The only ones who are sure about the existent of that hole and know where it is, is us four, the high school principal, everyone in our class, and the ones who were close to Sakura. The elementary school principal probably knows about that, but does he know exactly where it is?"

"We'll talk about it later, Ruka," said Natsume as they arrived at the hospital's front door.

Natsume pushed open the door and, almost immediately, a nurse saw his wounded body. The nurse frowned a little as she told him to follow her. The both of them followed the nurse into an empty room and she told Natsume to sit on one of the beds. Then, she tended to his wounds while Ruka watched at how Natsume's wounds slowly closing and fading.

"You should stay here for the night, Hyuuga-san. Tomorrow morning you can go back to your daily activities. But I wonder how did you get all those wounds anyway? You've been visiting the hospital a lot recently," the nurse said, standing up from her chair.

"Nothing really," answered Natsume coolly, facing the curtained window on his right side of the room.

The nurse looked at him for several moments, and when she finally gave up on Natsume answering her seriously, she left the room after telling Ruka to go back to his room in ten minutes. Ruka sat on one of the chairs there and they didn't say a word to each other. The silence broke when they heard the nurse's voice sounding through the hallway.

"Please, principal," the nurse said, begging. "The boy's state is in no condition to be interviewed. He is wounded, from trying to break out again I guess."

"It will only be for a moment. I will not take much of the boy's time," the principal said. The nurse tried to argue more, but there was nothing that can make the principal changed his mind. The nurse opened the door not long after that, letting the high school principal in.

Both boys were startled seeing the high school principal there. What could he want with them? Ruka stood up and Natsume was about to follow him when the principal said, "Please, there's no need to stand up, boys. Please, sit back down."

Ruka and Natsume exchanged looks and then they sat down as the door behind the principal was closed.

"I heard that you are intending to go outside, again. Is this true?" the principal asked.

None of them answered him.

"If you do go outside, you will be severely punished," the principal said again, though not harshly.

None of them responded. The word 'punish' does not have any impact on them anymore. They had been punished for so many times that it did not really scare them anymore. So how will the punishment this time make any differences? The principal saw this, so he added some more:

"You cannot risk anymore of your life, Natsume, for this silly thing. Haven't you understood anything after your last visit to the hospital? The doctors all think that it won't be long now until your life span runs out. Why do you still insist on doing this?"

Natsume was starting to feel uncomfortable. He remembered clearly what the doctors had said the week before. He was attempting to run away again, but his plan failed because there were too many guards. He used his Alice too much that he fainted. They took him to the hospital and the doctors checked him. That was when they confirmed that he won't live long.

Natsume knew this. They need not remind it to him. He knew this from the beginning, from when he was still an elementary student. However, ever since he vowed to protect the girl he loved, he decided to forget about it. He decided he would protect her even though it would cost his own life. He even promised her that he would not die.

Ruka looked at the troubled Natsume. He knew how his best friend was feeling. But he kept his mouth shut.

The principal saw the looks on the boys. He knew he was winning that battle. But he just need one more thing… one more thing to make the two boys speak their mind to him…

"Besides, I know Mikan is safe with Yuka, so the two of you need not worry about her." He knew it. He had won this battle, as he saw Natsume glared his piercing red eyes directly toward him.

"Why should I care what you, teachers, say?!" said Natsume loudly, standing up from the white sheeted-bed; his temper had reached its limit. "If she is safe, she is safe. But I just want to make sure. Is she really safe? Is she happy? Is she lonely? If she is safe, I will make her feel safer. If she is happy, I will make her happier. If she is lonely, I will be a friend beside her. I just want to know how she is doing, and there is nothing you, teachers, can do to stop me, not even that life span thing.

"Don't you know that I have already know that since elementary? I coughed blood, my body was weak, but still the academy sent me to missions. I will die even if I continue living here. They – he – will make me use my Alice more and more, until it reaches its limits and I will be no more. So what is the difference, huh, if I go outside and if I stay here? At least, I want her to know about this, so that she won't be sad when she knew that I was gone.

"So, principal, if you want to stop me, just try, but it won't do you any good."

The both of them looked at one another in silence, Natsume still with his glaring eyes and the principal with his cold blue eyes. Ruka was still sitting there, looking at Natsume then at the principal and back at Natsume again. There were no sounds that Ruka could hear their heartbeats. There were no footsteps outside.

After a long moment of silence, the principal sighed and closed his eyes. "It seems like you really want to see her." He opened his eyes slowly and faced Natsume. "There's nothing anyone can do to bring sense to your head now," the principal muttered, half to himself. He looked at the two boys squarely and said, "Well, I guess there is no stopping you, then. Have you figured out how you will do it? You can't possibly be thinking of passing the security again."

The boys was startled by the change of event. They exchanged glances. They knew that this time is for their move. Ruka stood up and said, "Well, we were thinking about the Hole, sensei. If I remember correctly, that time when we all watched Yuka-san's past, you said that it would take us anywhere we want, right? Since we're the ones that used it and no one knows that we were gone, I thought why not give it a try?"

"Well, that is a good idea, but if anyone, especially his, knows about your absence, you must be ready to face the consequences."

"I know," said Natsume.

"And you must tell your friends if you want this plan to work."

"Yes."

"Are you going alone or not?"

Natsume looked at Ruka. The both of them knew they were thinking the same thing. If they both come, Mikan wouldn't feel too lonely, and Ruka could watch over Natsume while they were outside.

"OK, I'll go."

"Well then, because this is set, I will be bringing one more person with you. She would be so much help for you with her inventions. She just comes back from studying overseas. Besides, I'm sure she can cheer Mikan up." Then the principal opened the door and there stood a girl of their age with dark short hair and gentle but deep, serious eyes. She stepped into the room as the principal said, "Imai-san will be coming with you."

"Long time no see," the dark haired girl greeted them.

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To Be Continued

I hope you've enjoyed reading this far

(I'm thinking this story will be about three chapters long)

Please oh please.....review this story.....

Thank you!!! ^_^